battling cholera inChiredzi
Motley scenes have characterised the story of villagers in
the communal lands of Chiweshe, from the smell of death, panic to mixed
episodes of hope, strength and ultimate victory over the life-threatening
water-borne disease, cholera.
Located some 100km away, north of Harare in the province of
Mashonaland Central is Dambo village which headlined news last week after it
became an epicentre of the infectious bacteria following the outbreak of
cholera after villagers attended a confirmed cholera death that occurred in the
area.
Chiweshe which is famed for its farming prowess, rich soils
and favourable agriculture climatic conditions became the victim of the cholera
epidemic which has so far spread in many parts of the province with Tsungubvi
in Glendale town having been designated the hotspot.
Socialised by cultural codes and traditional values of
Ubuntuism, it is the norm for villagers that each time one of theirs dies, they
all gather to mourn with the bereaved friends and family of the deceased, for
them it is unheard of that people cannot be allowed to gather for a funeral.
This was the case in Dambo village where mourners who
attended the funeral of village head Sabhuku Kodzwa, born Gift Nyariri, could
not believe that he had succumbed to cholera and continued the funeral without
heeding guideline protocols invoked by health workers for cholera related
deaths.
Narrating the ordeal on how the outbreak begun, ward 13
councillor Cde Edward Mutyavaviri who escaped death by a whisker following a
two-day fight with cholera confirmed the shocking attack that left the people
of Dambo and Kanyemba hospitalised and one dead.
“When the now late Sabhuku Kodzwa fell ill, he was brought
here at Dambo clinic where he only revealed that he had fallen while at home,
he was then treated and sent back home. By then, no one had suspected that it
could be cholera until he succumbed few days later after complaining of
diarrhea and headaches. Tests conducted later revealed that he had succumbed to
cholera, making it the first communal confirmed cholera death.
“Whilst at the funeral, local health workers made efforts
to alert mourners that the deceased had succumbed to cholera and there was a
real risk of contracting the bacteria, however many people could not believe
that such a bacteria associated with urban set-ups could visit our remote
areas, hence the warnings fell on deaf ears until a few days later when
villagers started complaining of headaches, running stomach. Thereafter tests
were conducted and confirmed that cholera had struck us. I was also among the
confirmed cases as I fought to recovery for days,” explained Clr Mutyavaviri.
Following the funeral many cases were recorded within 48
hours making Dambo clinic the second critical epicentre in the province after
Tsungubvi in Glendale town.
Amidst panic, horror and death, the local leadership in
unity with the health workers displayed a great commitment by answering the
call of duty through swift interventions that set the stage for a fight against
the epidemic, stopping it from spreading to many parts of the communal areas.
The state of preparedness by the Ministry of Health and
Child Care in Mazowe District was a masterstroke in mitigating the threat posed
by this disaster to about 26 villages in the ward area.
“Following positive results of cholera on tested patients,
we had 19 people admitted on the first day and that is when we established that
more cases from the funeral were coming, so we quickly declared Damba a cholera
camp and called in assistance to support the human resources capacity at this
place,” said district medical officer Dr Kudzai Chisenwa.
“At the peak we recorded 20 cases overnight, the situation
was bad as we lost another admitted patient, however our health personnel have
been on the ground disinfecting homes and vehicles as well as conducting
awareness campaigns and since Friday we are witnessing a commendable recovery
as well as a decrease in the number of patients being admitted.”
Dr Chisenwa further revealed that as of Sunday, Dambo had
77 cumulative cases with 66 having been treated and discharged, adding that
despite being out of the woods, the community must remain alert.
A stakeholder meeting that was held last week Thursday
revealed that interventions by various departments had contributed to the
stabilising of the cases at Dambo as more pillars were put in places by the
Ministry of Health and Child Care to contain the spread of diseases.
Among major contributing factors was the capacitation of
the camp by critical requisites that were provided among them, including food,
blankets, buckets, medicines and a range of paraphernalia that saw health
workers on the line of duty efficiently dealing with confirmed cases.
“From day one we have been running around to provide all
the needed items for both the health staffers and the admitted patients, at the
same time conscientising the community, it was imperative for us as local
leaders to intervene timeously, guided by our medical personnel,” weighed in
Mazowe Central member of Parliament Cde Maxmore Njanji.
“Working hand in hand with the traditional leader of this
area, Chief Negomo, we managed to secure all the items that were needed for
this camp to run efficiently and we are now witnessing a drop in the number of
cases, we also visited Rosa Clinic where the situation is stable with a few
walk in cases and about three patients recovering there,”
Among highlighted pending concerns for the community
include the issue of water sanitation and ablution facilities for the schools.
“we established that several boreholes in the area need to
be repaired and more should be drilled in line with the health protocols of
WASH, so all mechanisms are in place to further tie these loose ends as soon as
possible,” added Cde Njanji.
Further interventions have been realised after a Taiwan
organisation Tzu Chi Zimbabwe donated 50 blankets and 500kgs of rice at the
cholera camp, including facilitating the repairing of boreholes that are not
working in the area.
Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution
retired Captain Christopher Magomo said Tzu Chi has been contributing towards
the fight against cholera in the province.
“we had the organisation intervening at Tsungubvi cholera
camp when we had an outbreak, we got tonnes of rice from these Taiwan friends
of us.
“Therefore, all those hands coming in are contributing
towards our success in the fight against this infectious bacterium which is
threatening our communities, so far Tsungubvi and Dambo have been the most
critical with the rest of the province stable,” said Minister Magomo.Herald
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