Zimbabwe’s lack of clean water has forced the country to fight for months to stop the deadly cholera from spreading through its towns and cities.
“If the water comes at all it’s often dirty,” Regai Chibanda, a 46-year-old father of five from the sprawling township of Chitungwiza, told me.
Cholera, a severe diarrheal illness caused by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the Vibrio cholerae bacterium, has been spreading rapidly in Zimbabwe due to overcrowded and unsanitary conditions. This disease has had devastating consequences for the nation, particularly during the 2008-2009 outbreak when over 4,000 people lost their lives amidst the turmoil of a political and economic crisis marked by hyperinflation that reached an astonishing 80 billion percent. This crisis eventually led to the establishment of a historic power-sharing government, which took measures to combat the epidemic.
Today, Zimbabwe is grappling with a resurgence of inflation, and cholera has re-emerged in all ten provinces of the country, primarily affecting children who are often left unsupervised in sweltering conditions as their parents seek work.
The outbreak initially began in February, and as of the end of October, official reports from the Health and Childcare Department indicate nearly 6,000 cases and around 123 suspected deaths.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who secured a controversial re-election in August for his second term, has vowed to implement a nationwide program to drill boreholes.
This program will be complemented by the installation of solar-powered water points, primarily aimed at serving approximately 35,000 villages lacking access to clean drinking water.
In Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, residents endure prolonged periods without consistent water supply from the Harare City Council.
In Chitungwiza, a satellite township of Harare, more than 50 cholera-related deaths were reported by the end of October. Chitungwiza, despite its size and population, grapples with inadequate infrastructure for water supply and urban planning, as it continues to accommodate a growing population that seeks employment, leading to rural-to-urban migration.
“In Chitungwiza things are not good as far as water is concerned. There have been many people affected by cholera and every year it’s the same,” said Mr Chibanda, who commutes by car daily to central Harare for his job as a printer. He said he had heard of several deaths in his neighbourhood.
“Our water supply is not good, residents are resorting to buying mineral water from the supermarkets to save their lives but of course it’s hitting their pockets.”
The situation is the same in Mutare, the capital of Manicaland’s eastern highlands: more cholera cases and a city that struggles to provide its citizens with clean water, the most basic necessity.
There are a lot of cholera information alerts on social media, but for most people, the situation was best described by a comment posted earlier this month on the health ministry’s Facebook page by a resident of the southern city of Bulawayo: “How can we wash our hands? We don’t have running water in Bulawayo – for almost two weeks now.”