The Zimbabwean Government has declared the cholera outbreak over after no cases were reported since July 1, 2024.
Zimbabwe’s latest cholera spell, which started on 12 February 2023, saw 34,550 suspected cases 4,234 confirmed cases, and 631 deaths. At its peak, over 300 cases were reported in a single day.
Since the onset of the cases last year – through the spike – until date, there has been a collection of measures taken by the Government and partners coordinated by the Cholera Elimination Secretariat and the World Health Organization (WHO), which Higherlife Foundation is part of.
Some of the measures include heightened community surveillance, provision of clean water through drilling of boreholes, setting up oral rehydration points in hotspots, setting up of cholera treatment centres or units in hotspots, enhancing sanitation, increases risk communication and community engagement, and case management. Severely affected patients would be admitted to cholera treatment facilities.
In addition, about 2.4 million doses of oral cholera vaccines were administered through two targeted campaigns.
The coordination was being done from the Public Health Emergency Operations Center (PHEOC) which was established and is operated by Higherlife Foundation which served as a nerve center where all major response decisions were taken.
For Zimbabwe, the broader journey to eliminate cholera continues. While the latest trend is encouraging, there is need for work to be done to ensure that the gains are sustained.
According to the Global Task Force on Cholera Control, cholera can be eliminated through improving and strengthening water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH).
Improving access to WASH, oral cholera vaccines, increasing disease surveillance in hotspots and containing outbreaks through early detection and rapid response, are critical for stopping or avoiding future outbreaks.
Higherlife Foundation and other partners have been working to ensure that key recommendations of the 10-Year Multi-Sectoral Cholera Elimination Roadmap are implemented.