By Modupe Gbadeyanka
After a protracted 18 months of response, Zimbabwe has won its battle against the cholera outbreak, officially declaring an end to the disease in the country.
The country’s Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) in a letter said the declaration was in line with Global Task Force on Cholera Control (GTFCC) guidelines following zero reports of cholera cases in Zimbabwe for more than four consecutive weeks.
The disease reared its ugly head in Zimbabwe on February 12, 2023, affecting all the country’s 10 provinces, with 62 districts affected.
Through the implementation of multi-faceted interventions, the outbreak has now been contained. The last case of cholera was reported on June 30, 2024, after recording 34,549 suspected cholera cases, 4,217 confirmed cases and 33,831 recoveries.
Cumulative deaths reported were 718 with 87 being laboratory-confirmed and 631 suspected deaths. The case fatality rate was 2.1 per cent, according to the ministry.
“The Ministry of Health and Child Care wishes to notify WHO that the cholera outbreak, which was first reported on February 12, 2023, in Chegutu District, is now declared over after a protracted 18 months of response,” a letter to the World Health Organization (WHO) in Zimbabwe by the Permanent Secretary at MoHCC, Dr Aspect Maunganidze, stated.
WHO played a critical role in supporting Zimbabwe’s response to the cholera outbreak. Essential medical supplies worth close to $1 million were procured and handed over to MoHCC to scale up response activities.
In addition, cholera treatment centres and units were also put in place and 4,083 health workers were trained in case management, water quality testing, laboratory testing, infection, prevention and control (IPC) within CTCs as well as in surveillance. WHO was also responsible for partner coordination to avoid duplication of efforts and promote optimal use of resources.
It was gathered that funding for the overall cholera response came from various donors including the Contingency Funds for Emergencies (CFE), the Health Resilience Fund, (a pool of funding from the European Union, GAVI, The Vaccine Alliance, as well as the Governments of Ireland and the United Kingdom), the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, the Russian Federation as well as USAID.