Cholera outbreak officially ended – Cabinet

Cholera outbreak officially ended – Cabinet

Mako Jerera

Cabinet has announced that the cholera outbreak that began in February 2023 is now officially over.

This was presented during this Tuesday’s post cabinet media briefing.

In February 2023, Zimbabwe recorded its first case of cholera that led to an outbreak nationally.

Speaking at the Post Cabinet media briefing on Tuesday, the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Dr Jenfan Muswere highlighted that in the past 30 days no new case has been recorded in all 63 districts of the country.

“The Ministry of Health and Child Care would also want to inform the nation that as of today we have had 30 days without a single case of cholera in all our 63 districts and that the last case was on 30 June 2024 in Beitbridge. Therefore, we are now declaring that the cholera outbreak, which started in February 2023, as officially ended,” he said.

In response, the Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr Douglas Mombeshora spoke of various initiatives introduced by government in ending the cholera scourge, while urging citizens to adhere to health standards.

“Cabinet also deliberated on the food deficit mitigation strategy by government in-which over 100 000 metric tonnes have been distributed so far out of an estimated 130 000 metric tonnes as part of efforts to cushion all affected persons nationally,” he noted.

Report on the manufacturing sector performance under the Second Republic and contribution to the national Gross Domestic Product along with employment opportunities were also discussed.

“The manufacturing sector capacity utilisation has been on an upward trend over the past years. In 2023, there were significant capital equipment investments, hence available capacity utilisation increased. The manufacturing sector has the greatest multiplier effect in terms of employment creation through downstream jobs. In order to foster growth opportunities in the manufacturing sector, the government is in support of import substitution and targeting local production as well as supporting investments in the sector. The local industrial sector remains a cornerstone of Zimbabwe’s economic development,” said Dr Muswere.

Cabinet also discussed 100 day cycle projects such as construction progress at Karo Platinum Mine, construction of the VVIP wing at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, Mbudzi interchange, among other infrastructure development projects in line with the National Development Strategy One.