100,000 cases The spectre of cholera remains in Zimbabwe - Advocacy report
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
IFRC communications department /
100,000 cases: the spectre of cholera remains in Zimbabwe / May 2009 //
Communications department / May 2009 //
100,000 cases
The spectre of cholera
remains in Zimbabwe
Advocacy report
international federation
1
IFRC communications department /
100,000 cases: the spectre of cholera remains in Zimbabwe / May 2009 //
response. Despite this warning, the operation’s
Top line summary
Current trends suggest that Zimbabwe original budget of 10.17 million Swiss francs
will, in the coming week or two, record has only been 45 per cent covered.
its 100,000th case of cholera.
Almost 4,300 people have died of this ill- The IFRC operation – estimated at one stage
ness since the outbreak began in mid to have constituted 60 per cent of the country’s
2008. entire cholera caseload – has since been down-
graded prematurely. The seven Emergency Re-
The threat of cholera remains very real
for Zimbabwe. The outbreak was born sponse Units deployed across the country have
largely as a result of the country’s almost been demobilized, with responsibilities as-
entirely collapsed water, sanitation and sumed by the Zimbabwe Red Cross.
health systems. These issues have not
been addressed. The focus now is on medium to long-term re-
covery and rehabilitation activities –measures
Reluctant support from donors has un-
dermined the Red Cross Red Crescent to alleviate the impact of severely degraded
cholera operation – forcing a premature civil society infrastructure, such as providing
down-scaling of emergency operations. communities with semi-permanent access to
The Red Cross Red Crescent is now call- clean water and basic sanitation.
ing for support for mid to long-term re-
covery and rehabilitation efforts. The threat of cholera remains very real.
Introduction Retreated,
not defeated
In the coming days Zimbabwe will record its
100,000th cholera case. The epidemic has en- In December 2008, the World Health Organi-
trenched itself as Africa’s worst outbreak in zation (WHO) released a worst case scenario
more than 15 years. Almost 4,300 people have for Zimbabwe’s cholera outbreak of 60,000
now died, and the case fatality rate stands at cases. This figure was quickly passed in Febru-
4.4 per cent – unacceptably high given that a ary 2009, and the organization soon released
controlled cholera outbreak is defined by a rate new analysis with an upper estimate of above
of one per cent or less. 100,0001.
Rates of infection and death have declined In February of this year, the meteoric rates of
markedly over the past one or two months. infection of December 2008/January 2009
The reasons for this are varied: the impact of had already begun to slow. Red Cross Red
the humanitarian response; the establishment Crescent field assessments from this time high-
in some areas of interim social services, and; lighted a ruralisation of the outbreak. Where
the natural life of any public health crisis. once the crisis had been focused in urban areas
– particularly the high density suburbs around
However, the eradication of cholera in Zimba- the capital Harare – the illness had now taken
bwe or the complete conclusion to this current a foothold in villages and communities across
epidemic is unlikely unless the underlying the countryside.
causes of the health crises are addressed. Cen-
tral to this outbreak remains the almost com- To an extent, this shift explained the slowing
plete collapse of Zimbabwe’s basic water, sani- rate of infection: fewer people lived in these
tation and health infrastructure. Communities communities than in the semi-formal settle-
across the country are still without access to ments surrounding the large cities, for exam-
potable water and basic sanitation, and health ple. But this new trend also brought with it
facilities continue to be understaffed and un- new challenges.
1. IRIN, “In brief:
Zimbabwe’s cholera der resourced.
cases expected During the urbanized phase of the outbreak,
to reach 115,000”,
www.irinnews.
In January 2009, the International Federation treatment and prevention efforts could be cen-
org, http://www. of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies tralized. Cleaned and chlorinated water could
irinnews.org/report. (IFRC) warned that its cholera operation was be provided to large numbers of people, large
aspx?ReportID=82797,
26/02/09 at risk as a result of a surprisingly slow donor treatment centres could service high density
2
IFRC communications department /
100,000 cases: the spectre of cholera remains in Zimbabwe / May 2009 //
areas, and community education efforts could across the country, and millions of litres of
reach whole communities relatively rapidly. clean water being produced. Thousands of
community based volunteers have disseminat-
With a ruralised crisis, comparatively more ed potentially life-saving public health mes-
resources, that were more flexible, were sages, arming families and communities with
needed. The endemic frustrations of operat- the information that they needed to reduce
ing in Zimbabwe – inadequate transport and their risk of exposure to cho
communications – also played out more
acutely. Aid organizations were often only But again, the fundamental drivers of this pub-
made aware of community-level outbreaks lic health crisis remained largely unchecked.
when their treatment centres were inundated The treatment centres and water purification
with cases. units were only ever interim measures. The
steady decline in the spread of the illness should
In the months since, new cases across the coun- not be seen as a complete victory. Unless sig-
try have declined, though some new flare ups nificant efforts are made to rehabilitate at least
were reported again in and around Harare and some components of the country’s degraded
other cities. The humanitarian response no water and sanitation infrastructure, communi-
doubt contributed to this welcome trend, with ties remain vulnerable to further and severe
cholera treatment centres being established outbreaks.
international federation
3
“Zimbabwe is not Ethiopia
IFRC communications department /
100,000 cases: the spectre of cholera remains in Zimbabwe / May 2009 //
25 years ago. The dead
are not dropping in the
street (…) but the gnawing
hunger that plagues
people (is) compounded
by collapsing immune
systems. With that comes
disease.”
The Guardian UK, 13/02/09
international federation
4
IFRC communications department /
100,000 cases: the spectre of cholera remains in Zimbabwe / May 2009 //
Beyond cholera: lation. Again, this food crisis has been fed by a
A broader base number of factors: hyper-inflation for instance
has disenfranchised many farmers from essen-
of suffering tial agricultural inputs such as fertilizers and
As the cholera crisis continues quietly, other seeds.
factors such as HIV, food insecurity and natu-
ral hazards add to the daily challenges faced by Zimbabwe’s fields are sown with substandard
ordinary Zimbabweans. The ground was laid seed, scavenged often from graneries or from
for this cholera outbreak by years of infrastruc- the side of the road. It is extraordinarily un-
ture degradation, and the unchecked rising of likely that the 2009 harvest will significantly
HIV and hunger, aggravated by recurrent surpass 2008 – the worst in the country’s
floods, inconsistent rainfall, and in some parts history.
of the country, drought. The situation is ag-
gravated by a still deteriorating economic situ- These factors are obviously interrelated. Each
2. World Food
Programme, ation, high unemployment and chronic issues feeding into a worsening downward spiral: the
“Zimbabwe crisis: surrounding transport and communication. food crisis is undermining stunted efforts to
as of 15 January,
2009”, www.wfp.org,
provide anti-retroviral treatment, and is con-
http://www.wfp.org/ Per capita, Zimbabwe is now the most food aid tributing to the high fatality rate of the cholera
countries/zimbabwe, dependent country in the world. The World epidemic. The UN believes that 54 per cent of
26/02/09
Food Programme believes that seven million all children who have died from cholera were
3. WFP, http://www.
wfp.org/countries/
people are in need of food assistance2 – some- malnourished, with 47 per cent of the coun-
zimbabwe, 26/02/09 where between 65 and 80 per cent of the popu- try’s population undernourished3.
Cholera rising
100,000
Cases
Deaths
80,000
60,000
40,000
20,000
0
December January February March April May
Source: http://ochaonline.un.org/CholeraSituation/tabid/5147/language/en-US/Default.aspx
5IFRC communications department /
100,000 cases: the spectre of cholera remains in Zimbabwe / May 2009 //
Almost 4,300 Zimbabweans have now died The seven Emergency Response Units deployed
from an illness that is entirely preventable and at the onset of the outbreak have been demobi-
easily treatable. Although infection rates have lized, with operational responsibility handed
dropped, the spectre of cholera will not be de- over to the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society. An
feated until the underlying issues are addressed. estimated 3.75 million Swiss francs (USD 3.44
million/€ 2.47 million) is urgently required to
Funding impedes ensure that sustainable medium to long term
measures are implemented. The Red Cross Red
response Crescent aims to rehabilitate 1,150 non-func-
In January, 2009, the IFRC warned that chron- tional water sources, to drill 263 bore holes and
ic underfunding of its Zimbabwe cholera op- construct 3,755 latrines. With a well estab-
eration would result in activities being scaled- lished network of over 1,000 trained volunteers
4. IFRC, “Zimbabwe:
back4. and community health workers, this plan of
As cholera escalates, action aims to reach 665,000 households in
Red Cross Red The warning was not heeded, and as a result, high-risk areas.
Crescent funding
falls short”, www. the operation – estimated at one stage to have
ifrc.org, http://www. constituted 60 per cent of cholera related hu-
ifrc.org/docs/news/
pr09/0509.asp,
manitarian work in the country – was prema-
26/02/09 turely downscaled.
The Red Cross Red Crescent
Operation – an overview
In December 2008, the IFRC deployed seven
Emergency Response Units (ERUs) to Zimbabwe.
An ERU is a specialized team that is trained and
equipped for emergency humanitarian scenarios.
The Zimbabwe deployment is the largest of its kind
in Africa, and comparable to the deployments
undertaken in the wake of the 2005 Pakistan earth-
quake.
Operational highlights
The Red Cross Red Crescent has:
> Supported 75 hospitals, clinics and cholera
treatment centres (CTCs).
> Provided 450,000 people with access to clean
water
> Distributed 700,000 water purification sachets
to more than 175,000 people
> Reached over 250,000 people with direct hy-
giene promotion activities
> Constructed 58 latrines, eight waste disposal
pits and four incinerators at CTCs
> Reached over 700,000 people with potentially
life-saving public health information through in-
formation, education and communication (IEC)
materials
international federation
6IFRC communications department /
100,000 cases: the spectre of cholera remains in Zimbabwe / May 2009 //
The politics of Calling governments to account and cam-
emergency aid paigning for change is the hallmark of a civil
society. Yet this should not be confused with
The deteriorating humanitarian situation in the mandate of organizations like the IFRC,
Zimbabwe coincides with ongoing political, which is to impartially provide aid on the basis
social and economic tensions and develop- of need, and need alone, without recourse to
ments. Following the signing of the Global Po- ideology, politics or difference.
litical Agreement, the transitional government
has redirected its efforts in economic recovery It is vital that a neutral, independent and im-
strategies resulting in the development of the partial humanitarian space be fostered and
STERP (short-term emergency recovery pro- protected.
gramme), which aims to inject and stabilize
growth.
At the epicentre of the economic crisis, have “Today, our appeal
been unprecedented levels of hyper-inflation,
sustained period of negative Gross Domestic is less than half
Product (GDP) rates, massive devaluation of
the currency, low productive capacity, loss of funded. We will
jobs, food shortages, poverty, massive de-in-
dustrialization and general despondency. Gov- begin revising our
ernments around the world are monitoring
these situations, and global media continues to operation, scaling
provide analysis.
back just at the time
But while the international community con-
tinues to wrestle with the politics of Zimba- when humanitarian
bwe, Zimbabweans are still being infected by
cholera. assistance needs
to be dramatically
scaled-up. This is
simply untenable.”
Ms Emma Kundishora,
Zimbabwe Red Cross Society
secretary general, February 2009
international federation
7IFRC communications department /
100,000 cases: the spectre of cholera remains in Zimbabwe / May 2009 //
100,000 cases: the spectre
of cholera remains in Zimbabwe
For more information, to set up interviews or to obtain footage or photos, please contact:
Press contacts
Matthew Cochrane
Communications manager (Johannesburg)
Tel: + 27 83 395 52 66
Stambuli Kim
Communications officer (Zimbabwe Red Cross Society)
Tel: + 263 11 517 264
Paul Conneally
Media and external communications manager (Geneva)
Tel: +41 79 308 98 09
Media service duty phone (Geneva)
Tel: + 41 79 416 38 81
The International Federation of
Red Cross and Red Crescent
Societies promotes the
humanitarian activities of National
Societies among vulnerable
people.
By coordinating international
disaster relief and encouraging
development support it seeks
to prevent and alleviate human
suffering.
The International Federation,
the National Societies and the
International Committee of
159500 05/2009 E
the Red Cross together constitute
Our world is in a mess.
the International Red Cross and It’s time to make your move.
Red Crescent Movement. ourworld-yourmove.org
8You can also read
