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Mugabe
in denial mode over cholera
Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC)
December
12, 2008
The MDC is deeply worried
by statements by the President-designate, Mr Robert Mugabe that
the cholera epidemic, which is spreading like a veldfire across
the country, is now under control.
Addressing mourners at
the burial of the late Zanu PF national commissar, Elliot Manyika,
Mugabe said the cholera crisis was over. The Zanu PF caretaker government
is in a denial mode. The MDC believes that it is such careless and
reckless statements that have not helped the situation.
Over 800 people have
succumbed to cholera in the last month. At a time Mugabe is saying
the epidemic is firmly under control, the South African government
has declared cholera a disaster in its northern provinces.
While the World Health
Organisation and other international agencies have helped by supplying
intravenous fluids and drugs, the epidemic has not abated. The underlying
cause of cholera is the lack of running water in people's homes
and the collapsed sewer system across all areas of the country.
As long as these fundamentals are not addressed, it would be disingenuous
for anyone, let alone a leader, to say the situation is under control.
The MDC, and indeed the
people of Zimbabwe, know that the epidemic is still with us and
is spreading fast across all major cities and towns. We have visited
homes of cholera victims in Harare and we have heard harrowing tales
from affected Zimbabweans in Musina in South Africa. Only those
who have not given themselves time to assess the situation on the
ground will continue to bury their heads in the sand.
We cannot afford to be
in a denial mode as a nation. No amount of "tough talking"
will help our situation when we need all the help we can get to
avert a serious health crisis punctuated by shortage of drugs and
a frustrated and shrinking medical staff.
We should be honest with
ourselves and with the world. The truth is that cholera remains
a major disaster in Zimbabwe.
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