In memory of Julia Chapeyama and Thembelani Lunga

The outbreak of cholera in epidemic proportions has brought Zimbabwe back to the attention of the region and the world.  Zimbabwe’s complex emergency, which is now causing so much suffering, taking lives and breaking the society apart at its seams, has been several years in the making. A key factor in creating a perfect environment for the breeding and spread of the cholera bacterium has been the neglect of essential services by the ZANU PF government over the years. But this has only been one effect of complete mismanagement and deliberate disregard for the lives of ordinary Zimbabweans. ZANU PF rule has brought a decline in basic standards of living for many years now; but in the months while Robert Mugabe has clung to power in the face of rejection by the people at the polls in March this year, the downward spiral has changed into a precipitous plunge.

In August this year, just when the first cases of cholera were being reported in Harare and Chitungwiza, WOZA undertook research designed to present a picture of the living standards of our members in Harare-Chitungwiza and Bulawayo.  Some of the results of that study are now available, and present a stark demonstration of the circumstances, which have provided the backdrop for the cholera epidemic.

Please click here to read the communique: communique-declaring-a-health-emergency-is-not-enough