16 January,2009 03:01 PM IST | | PTI
The Cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe, which has claimed more than 2,200 lives, is still spreading out of control despite humanitarian agencies boosting their response, the United Nations said today.
To tackle the problem humanitarian agencies are now supporting 172 cholera treatment centres throughout the country, promoting awareness of the disease through information campaigns and helping to set up operational frameworks for cholera command centres and rapid response teams.
The disease, which is caused by contaminated food or water, has affected all ten of Zimbabwe's provinces, and nearly 90 per cent of the country's 62 local districts, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO).
Half the estimated 40,000 cases diagnosed so far are in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare. Meanwhile, the UN says, Zimbabwe's food security situation is also becoming increasingly difficult as the lean season sets in.
The crisis is just one among many to hit the country, which has been faced with years of failed harvests, bad governance and hyperinflation, as well as months of political tension after disputed presidential elections in March.
