Ireland deploys €250,000 against Zimbabwe cholera

The Embassy of Ireland in Pretoria recently provided funding of €250,000 to UNICEF to deliver emergency water, sanitation and health (WASH) services in Harare.

This support forms part of Ireland’s response to the Zimbabwe cholera outbreak which has claimed dozens of lives. The partnership with UNICEF also complements Ireland’s work in the health sector, where Ireland is supporting interventions to improve maternal and child health.

The Ireland-funded programme engages communities through various public awareness campaigns. The emergency water and sanitation interventions, which are the centre of this programme, are expected to ultimately lead to a well informed and mobilized community, equipped to prevent the further spread of cholera. This programme is also expected to lead to increased access to clean water and knowledge on how to make water fit for safe domestic use.

Latest situation reports indicate that new infections have slowed down to less than 50 suspected cases reported per day, down from over 200 at the peak of the outbreak.

The World Health Organisation however insists that whilst the outbreak has slowed down, it has not yet been contained.