Community Water Alliance and Oxfam Join Forces to Combat Cholera Outbreak in Harare
By Staff Reporter
In response to the recent cholera outbreak in Harare, the local sanitation advocacy group, Community Water Alliance (CWA), has teamed up with Oxfam to take proactive measures.
Their collaborative efforts seek to address the crisis and minimize the spread of the disease in the affected areas.
The joint initiative spearheaded by CWA and Oxfam involves prepositioning essential Non-Food Items (NFI) in several affected suburbs, namely Kuwadzana, Glen View, Budiriro, and Dzivarasekwa with the primary goal to enhance household hygiene practices, as this plays a crucial role in combatting cholera within the capital city.
According to a statement released by the advocacy group, the distribution of non-food items to households is an integral part of their endeavor to support and promote proper household hygiene.
“Community Water Alliance is an implementing partner of Oxfam. Oxfam has been helping City of Harare on contact tracing within affected districts. Water trucking and other initiatives will be rolled out in partnership with the City of Harare. Non-Food Items that will be distributed include jerry cans, buckets with taps, bars of soap, water guard bottles, knapsack spray. These will be distributed to households in our endeavor to support household hygiene.
“The water movement implore relevant authorities to increase fiscal allocations on water and sanitation so that cholera is totally eliminated in Zimbabwe. Women are carrying the burden of unpaid care work like fetching water and caring for the sick at home,” read CWA statement
CWA expressed gratitude for the support provided by the European Union and UNICEF, which has facilitated their efforts in combating the cholera outbreak.
“Increased funding towards access to WASH is a priority as we head towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals. It is one area that address issues beneath surface level differences in gender roles and relations. We are grateful to the support offered by the European Union and UNICEF,” said the advocacy group
Harare City Council’s health services director, Dr. Prosper Chonzi, recently confirmed the presence of a cholera outbreak in the capital city.
Dr. Chonzi urged residents to actively participate in efforts to control the disease by practicing good hygiene and following prescribed preventive measures.
.
