Cholera claims 2 lives: Minister

TWO cholera deaths were reported in the country last week.

Health and Child Care Minister Dr David Parirenyatwa has since called for the revival of water and sanitation systems since the country is still prone to water borne diseases.

Dr Parirenyatwa told Parliamentarians on Thursday that cholera has been rampant for a long time and would not go away unless people improve sanitation.

In response to a question from Chegutu West legislator Cde Dexter Nduna, Dr Parirenyatwa said the two deaths were recorded at Stoneridge Park, near Chitungwiza.

“As long as you have poor sanitation, no water supply, we will have a situation like that which happened in Chegutu, Norton and Chitungwiza again. So, although now we have no cholera cases in Zimbabwe, we had two deaths in the past week from that Stoneridge area,” said Dr Parirenyatwa.

He urged members of the public to ensure they practise personal hygiene and access clean water so that diseases like cholera, typhoid and other diarrhoeal conditions are negated.

Cde Nduna said his constituency was ravaged by cholera in 2008 when more than 400 people died and in 2018, about four people died.

He demanded to know how the health fund is being used to fight cholera.

“What policy direction are you giving to that fund to try and direct it to infrastructure development in particular sewer and water reticulation in general towards the cholera epidemic, in particular again to Chegutu West Constituency?” asked Cde Nduna.

In response Dr Parirenyatwa said, “I think these are the issues that we need to address and we are addressing now as Government in coordination with the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing to make sure that these people are moved from those areas.”

According to the World Health Organisation, cholera kills an estimated 95 000 people and affects 2,9 million worldwide every year.—@thamamoe