LIVE: the cholera response aims to save lives

The cholera epidemic that hit Zimbabwe last November/December is the result of one decade of decline: decline in infrastructure, in the maintenance of wells, clinics, latrines and everything that keeps a population healthy. The epidemic peaked in January/February of this year with over 100,000 cases of cholera and at least 4000 deaths. Cholera tends to happen more in poor communities because the preconditions are there. If cholera hits your community, this is a good indicator that you have fallen a long way down. It is a wake up call that things are really not good.

Now it is the dry season in Zimbabwe however, a few more cases of cholera have been reported recently. Because of this there is concern that another epidemic could start at the onset of the rainy season. This is why CARE is, once again, addressing this issue. To prevent another outbreak, we are scaling up our prevention response.

We know how to stop cholera: with clean water, soap, and properly maintained toilets. CARE’s response to cholera in Zimbabwe is to address all of these issues. We have been rehabilitating bore holes, distributing soap, water purification tablets and promoting good hygiene habits. The distribution of water buckets is meant to help people keep their water clean. The buckets have lids. But we also know that distributing things is simply not enough. CARE also organizes community meetings to talk about good hygiene habits. Education about proper hygiene practices must also be promoted.

In a community that we visited, one of the disaster risk response (DRR) exercises focused on cholera. Community members worked on a ‘problem tree’ to structure the issue of cholera. The ‘roots’ of the tree symbolized the roots of problem. One woman told me clearly all the root causes of cholera. She was right on the mark. The ‘tree branches’ are the solution to the problem and the community’s role is to identify them. They know very well what causes cholera. The process of identifying both the problems and the solutions, as well as what you miss in between, is straightforward. The gaps can be addressed by CARE’s programs. Community members know what the gaps are.

Unlike other interventions spearheaded by CARE, community members were not singing and dancing at the cholera distribution site I visited. People are not proud when cholera strikes their community. They were patiently waiting for the essential items to be distributed. The distribution went off without a glitch, although it could have been faster and, in my opinion, more respectful of people’s time since I imagine many walked a long way to get to the distribution center.