HARARE (AFP) — Zimbabwe's government pleaded for international help Thursday after declaring a cholera epidemic that has killed more than 560 people a national emergency and admitting that hospitals are no longer working.
The government and doctors said hospitals needed medicines and equipment to keep health care centres going and even money to pay salaries and water treatment chemicals as the country's economic crisis bites ever harder.
According to the government and World Health Organisation, more than 560 people have died in the cholera epidemic and more than 12,500 cases recorded.
The state-run Herald newspaper said the government had declared the cholera outbreak "and the malfunctioning of central hospitals as national emergencies" on Wednesday and had appealed for international aid.
"Our central hospitals are literally not functioning," Health Minister David Parirenyatwa told a meeting of aid groups, the newspaper reported.
He put the death toll so far at 563. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Wednesday there were 565 deaths and 12,546 recorded cases.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said over 13 tonnes of medical supplies arrived in Harare on Wednesday night, while the World Health Organisation said it would supply 340,000 dollars worth of drugs and supplies.
"UN agencies have been asked to redouble their efforts as the epidemic is taking on national proportions," Elisabeth Byrs, OCHA's spokeswoman in Geneva, told AFP.
"The needs are great, we lack the most basic supplies such as blankets and plates in the hospitals, as well as soap and water purification tablets," said Byrs.
The Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) said the state of emergency was overdue.
"They should have done that two or three weeks ago when the figures of cholera related deaths were still low. However, it's better late than never. At least they now realise that this is a serious matter," ZADHR chairman Douglass Gwatidzo told AFP.
Hospitals urgently need drugs, food and equipment. Laboratory, surgical and laundry equipment, X-ray films and boilers were also needed, Parirenyatwa said.
In addition, he said the health ministry needs 1.5 million dollars a month as incentives for government health workers who have gone on strike over pay.
Cholera is the latest challenge to hit poverty-wracked Zimbabwe as it struggles with a political crisis and hyperinflation estimated at 231 million percent in July.
Rogue soldiers went on the rampage between Thursday last week and Monday this week, beating up illegal foreign currency dealers and looting shops in Harare, and in Mbare and Chitungwiza, the Herald reported.
Banks on Thursday started issuing a new 100 million Zimbabwe dollar note, worth about 14 US dollars, and increased withdrawal limits. There were winding queues in Harare as Zimbabweans can now only withdraw money once a week.
A 48-hour water cut in Harare has been alleviated, but authorities say they have only enough water treatment chemicals to last 12 weeks.
Charities have warned that cholera has spread to neighbouring South Africa, where health authorities say the Limpopo River, a major waterway and border with Zimbabwe, tested positive for cholera this week.
Authorities initially shrugged off calls to declare a national disaster, blaming the crisis on Western sanctions against President Robert Mugabe and his inner circle.
The South African government said Thursday it will hold an urgent ministerial meeting on the food and humanitarian crisis, saying people were beginning to "die of starvation".
"There are very clear signs ... people are beginning to die of starvation. South Africa and SADC (the Southern African Development Community) can't just fold our arms," said government spokesman Themba Maseko.
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