Highlights
• As of 26 April 2024, a total of 33,004 cholera cases, and 703 deaths with a cumulative case fatality rate (CFR) of 2.1 per cent, have been reported from 63 districts across the 10 provinces.
• Of the cumulative cholera cases, approximately 31 per cent are children aged below 15 years, and 14 per cent are children under five years.
• According to the data released on April 26, 2024, death rate for new cholera cases dropped to 2.1 per cent from 2.2 per cent in the previous reporting period.
• Limited access to safe water and insufficient sanitation facilities remain key determinants driving cholera transmission in Zimbabwe.
• UNICEF reached 7,114 people with critical hygiene supplies, and 4,986 people with safe water for drinking and domestic needs of which 1,247 are children.
Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs
As of 26 April 2024, a total of 33,004 cholera cases, and 703 deaths were reported, with a cumulative case fatality rate (CFR) of 2.1 per cent. Of the cumulative cholera cases reported, 51 per cent are women, 31 per cent are children aged below 15 years and 14 per cent are childen under five years. Overall new cholera cases trend continued to decline with case fatality rate declining from 2.2 per cent in the previous reporting period to 2.1 per cent as of 26 April 2024.
During the reporting period, most cases were reported from Mashonaland West and Harare Provinces proportionally contributing to 44 per cent and 21 per cent of the total cases respectively. Mashonaland West Province reported a 27 per cent increase in cholera cases during the reporting period related to artisinal miners who use unsafe water from contaminated shallow wells and have no sanitation facilities.
Children, women of childbearing age, religious decliners, artisanal miners, and farmers in rural settings continue being high-risk population groups with 51 per cent of the cumulative cholera cases being women while 14 per cent are children under five years.
Key factors driving cholera transmission remain unchanged. Low access to safe water and insufficient sanitation, inadequate Infection, Prevention, and Control (IPC), health system challenges (staff attrition, capacity, access, and quality issues), unsafe burial practices, multiple disease outbreaks (polio), and limited funding among humanitarian partners to scale up the response, have contributed to the challenges in the cholera response.
Subregional population movements and large gatherings for economic, cultural, and religious reasons amidst ongoing cholera outbreaks across neighbouring countries (Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique) present continued risks for cross-border transmission.
The El Niño-induced drought effects and associated water scarcity within households resulting in use of unsafe water sources and water rationing for sanitation further compound the cholera outbreak situation.
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