35.1 percent of the population in Masvingo Province still practises open defecation, posing significant health and environmental risks, TellZim News has learnt.
Speaking during
a press discussion organized by TellZim, Masvingo Provincial Affairs and
Devolution Permanent Secretary Dr Addmore Pazvakavambwa said the province was
still behind in terms of reducing open defecation according to a 2022 National
Housing Census report with Chiredzi topping the statistics at 47 percent.
“The districts
of Chiredzi and Mwenezi are most affected with a staggering 47 percent of the
population in Chiredzi resorting to open defecation. However government is
working towards improving the situation in the province by the next census,’
said Dr Pazvakavambwa.
Ministry of
Health and Child Care Provincial Health Administrator Samson Nyoni who was
representing Provincial health Medical Director Dr Amadeus Shamu however said
the province had not recorded any cholera cases during this rainy season.
“For the
record, one confirmed case of cholera is an outbreak but for all the cholera
suspects that we tested we did not record any positive case. This means we do
not have cholera around those areas from around the end of last year upto now,”
said Nyoni.
Nyoni also
noted government’s efforts in improving water, sanitation and hygiene and said
104 boreholes had been drilled at health facilities across the province for
accessibility of potable water.
“We have had
104 boreholes drilled in the province to augment potable water provision,” said
Nyoni.
Zimbabwe has
experienced several cholera outbreaks with the recent one in 2023/2024 which
was declared over after 18 months. Over 150 deaths were recorded with over 1
000 cases confirmed. TellZimNews
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