|
Back to Index
Health
crisis feared as Bulawayo schools open without water
Tererai Karimakwenda, SW Radio Africa
August 30, 2007
http://www.swradioafrica.com/news310807/health310807.htm
Schools are opening on
Tuesday in Zimbabwe and students will not only have a tough time
securing transport, but they also face health risks due to water
cuts that are now lasting longer periods. Without water to flush
toilets and drinking water being stored in containers, there is
a great risk of water borne diseases, particularly for students
who attend boarding schools. Diarrhoea is already a serious problem
around the country. Hundreds of cases are treated everyday.
The water crisis is best
explained by the situation in Bulawayo, where there is a struggle
over control of the city's water supply. Several schools are located
there and the local officials are resisting pressure from the government
to hand over control of the water supply to the state run Zimbabwe
National Water Authority (ZINWA). They say the water agency has
mismanaged water supplies in Harare and other areas that it has
taken over. And indeed those places are now worse off.
A report by the Institute
for War & Peace Reporting said government authorities have refused
to help residents in Bulawayo with repairs and with waterborne diseases
that are on the increase.
Our Bulawayo contact
Zenzele said it is feared an outbreak of water related illnesses
may bring the new school term very quickly. He told us many areas
go for 3 to 4 days without any water while others can go for weeks
without seeing a drop. Zenzele said schools like Milton, Evelyn,
Polytech and Hillside Teachers College have no running water.
Health officials are
still on strike and there is a critical shortage of medical drugs.
A serious outbreak of disease would be extremely difficult to deal
with, especially at a school that has hundreds of students living
without adequate water supplies.
Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
TOP
|
