The situation in Zimbabwe continues to worsen as cholera gains ground, even crossing borders into neighbouring countries. To date, over 4,000 people have died and close to 90,000 have been infected.
Merlin has partnered with the German NGO Welthungerhilfe (GAA) and has been scaling up our work to address Zimbabwe’s public health crisis since November 2008.
Currently, we’re reaching up to 500,000 people with a network of oral rehydration points, or ORPs, in both rural and urban areas.
Kate Sheahan, Merlin’s Country Director, highlights one of the serious consequences of an economy increasingly reliant on the use of foreign currency: it has taken a heavy toll on access to health care, which is now commonly priced in US dollars.
Today, a pregnant mother, who needs an emergency C-section, might pay as much as US$800. “The average person doesn’t earn US dollars, Euros or British pounds and there is an 80 per cent unemployment rate,” she explains.
"We are prepared to respond as long as necessary,” Kate adds. However to do so, Merlin desperately needs additional funding to continue to treat and prevent cholera cases and strengthen Zimbabwe’s collapsed health system.
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