Zimbabwe cholera cases above 69,000
Published: Monday, 9 February 2009, 12:17PM
The number of people suffering from cholera in Zimbabwe has risen to more than 69,000 cases, United Nations figures show.
The World Health Organisation said the epidemic has killed 3,397 people out of 69,317 cases since August, the deadliest outbreak in Africa in 15 years.
The figures will put further pressure on Zimbabwe's leaders to end a humanitarian crisis after forming a unity government last week.
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change's decision to create a unity government with President Robert Mugabe could give authorities a better chance of tackling the disease that has deepened Zimbabwe's hardships.
Zimbabwe's health system has collapsed under an economic crisis that has left eight out of ten people out of employment in the once prosperous country. Poor medical facilities and sanitation have helped spread the cholera.
More than half of Zimbabwe's population of 13.5 million is surviving on food aid.
And the southern African nation is struggling with the world's highest inflation rate of over 231 million per cent as of July last year.
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