Many Zimbabweans rely on unsanitary water sources
Zimbabwe is at risk of another outbreak of cholera later on because it failed to deal with causes of the epidemic that began last year, aid agencies say. Both Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and the UN are warning of fresh outbreaks of the disease, which has killed more than 4,000 people since last August. The number of cholera cases has tailed off recently, leading Zimbabwean officials to declare the epidemic over. But the UN says Millions of Zimbabweans remain without access to clean water. And MSF's Rian van de Braak said the threat was "definitely not over". "Everyone expects cholera to be back... because the root cause for the outbreak has not been addressed adequately yet," she said. "The dilapidated water and sewage systems are still a major problem." Doctors on strike Unicef's Peter Salama told the AFP news agency another outbreak was "almost inevitable". "There is a deterioration of infrastructure in the country and Zimbabwe has not made progress in improving this infrastructure," he said. "This will expose people to another cholera outbreak again." Zimbabwe's coalition government, formed in February between President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, pledged to make a priority of restoring dilapidated public services across the spectrum. But aid agencies say few improvements have been made, and the government has not managed to raise enough money to fund its infrastructure projects. Added to these problems are long-running difficulties with the country's health services. Last year, as the economy went into meltdown, many hospitals were closed because medical staff had left the country. Now, many of the remaining doctors are on strike over pay, posing new challenges for the beleaguered unity government.
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