Rodna Zvidza
Cholera positive cases were not avoidable with the Beitbridge sanitation situation. There has been raw sewage flowing all over. As if that was all, the national power outages or load shedding as it may be respectfully called, is now the order of the day. What does it mean not to have electricity? It means there is no water. And analysis from the street now is power cuts are triggering water borne diseases.
From the civil protection meeting held in the district, it has been said that there were 3 positive cholera cases in the district with 11 suspected cases. Of the 11 suspected cases, 3 of them have been put in isolation. The rapid response team and the risk community communication engagement subcommittee have been activated and are on the ground doing sensitization, awareness raising and water sampling.
The results of the water sampling have revealed that cholera has not been caused by sources of water that have been sampled yet hence it’s still to be established where the diarrhoeal disease came from. Ministry of Health and Child Care also states that the water testing equipment has become obsolete and sometimes gives false results. Funds to carry out the cholera awareness campaigns are not yet in place. Only Private partners have chipped in with fuel and funds for PA system hire.
The issue of electricity is affecting water supply as there is no back up power at Municipality of Beitbridge. People are now resorting to borehole water as there are no options. The town also relies on one tractor that has been used for the Cholera Treatment Centre serving multiple purposes there. Without water, the town remains at high risk of the water borne disease.
The geographical location of Beitbridge should also be noted as it exposes the Limpopo province of South Africa to the same risk. Porous borders and smuggling present a serious threat of the disease crossing over.
For context, the cholera pandemic has ravaged Zimbabwean communities contributing to 4 288 deaths between 2008- 2009. Cholera is a primitive disease which should not have such a significant effect in the 21st century. It lies now with the government of Zimbabwe to curb the spread of this pandemic again for fear of needless loss of life.
