According to the U.S. Agency for International Development and the World Health Organization, Zimbabwe’s cholera problem continues to spread.
Since the outbreak began last August, “the disease has spread to all of Zimbabwe’s 10 provinces and 56 of Zimbabwe’s 62 districts,” according to USAID. More than 78,900 cases of cholera have been reported, causing more than 3,700 deaths. USAID also noted, “If current daily cholera rates continue, the total caseload could enter the lower range of WHO’s worst-case scenario, currently estimated at 81,000 to 115,000 cases, in less than one week.” This is even more appalling given that cases may actually be under-reported given the dismal state of Zimbabwe’s health care system.
It sounds like although the number of cases continues to rise, the percentage of fatalities has actually dropped a bit as case management has improved. Zimbabwe’s people, both literally and figuratively, are sick to death of President Robert Mugabe. Make no mistake, Mugabe is as directly responsible for these deaths as if had shot them himself.