Zimbabwe's churches faced with 'special challenge' after fresh cholera outbreak

Zimbabwe's churches are being urged to take action to curb the spread of cholera after more than two dozen people died from the disease in the past two weeks.

Cholera was first detected earlier this month in the suburbs of the Zimbabwe capital, Harare, where more than 3,000 cases have been reported. But it has since spread to several parts of the country and the Zimbabwean government has declared a state of emergency. 

Dr Kenneth Mtata, General Secretary of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches, is calling on churches to cooperate with the Ministry of Health and take steps to stop the disease spreading further.

'Churches are faced with a special challenge, because they gather thousands of people every week and it is in such gatherings that the spread of the pandemic can be accelerated,' he said. 

The last time Zimbabwe was hit by a deadly cholera outbreak was in 2008, when over 4,000 people died from the disease. 

Mr Mtata said the outbreak 10 years ago reflected the country's 'failing systems,' but he said that it would be 'short-sighted' to try and score political points off the current outbreak.

'This is not a time for us to score political goals. It is an opportunity for us to demonstrate that as Zimbabweans it is possible for us to go beyond our political positions and remember the words of the Apostle Paul: that when one part of the body is in pain, the rest of the body is in pain with it.'

He added that the church was needed to be a 'catalyst for the broader healing of the nation' as it deals with this latest challenge.

The Zimbabwean government has cracked down on street vendors selling food, and said it plans to repair sewer pipes and collect refuse. 

Street vendors have expressed anger over the move. Mother-of-three Maria Mange, who sells fruits and vegetables on the streets of Harare, blamed the outbreak on the city's poor sanitation.

'I am refusing to leave the streets on the basis that we cause the spread of cholera,' she told Voice of America. 'Our wares are cleaned or boiled before being consumed. It is dirty water which causes cholera, their failure to collect refuse, plus flowing sewage in the streets and blocked sewer pipes. Why concentrate on vendors and not criminals?'

The government was strongly criticized when it launched a crowdfunding campaign last week to tackle the cholera outbreak amid reports that it had been spending on new cars for cabinet members.

The World Health Organization has expanded its operations in the wake of the outbreak and is providing cholera kits to the country's cholera treatment centers.