BINDURA CITY COUNCIL WAGES WAR AGAINST CHOLERA.

Bindura municipality has ordered canteens, shebeens, motorists(mushika-shika) and even vendors who sell perishables to shut down in response to the rising cases of cholera in Mashonaland Central.

People who have opposed this order have received a penalty of arrest and their products taken, some have complained that these businesses are their only way of income and they need the council to be lenient.

Noria Chatima said in a conversation, “They told us it is just temporary but it has been over a month since we closed and stopped selling and we need the money ‘ndopanoraramira mhuri dzedu ipapa saka hapana kusiri kufa”.

A canteen owner mentioned that the council is only pretending to care about combating the spread of cholera because they are not getting enough money from these small businesses, saying, “Ingori nyaya yekuti mazuvano vanhu havana mari dzekupa vanhu vecouncil, taisimbobudisa maUSD$15 or USD$20 but now hapana mari dzacho zvekuti tikatovapa maUSD$3 inenge yakatowanda, dai mari dziri kubuda tisina kumbovhariswa”.

Zimba Wave managed to get in touch with one council member who wishes to remain anonymous, to clarify why motorists are being shut down too and he said that they are not complying to the rules of carrying the expected number of passengers.

“People always want to see us as bad people like we are always looking for problem yet they do not want to follow the rules, vanhu vemushika-shika vanenge vakazarisa mumota, mota inofanwa kunge yakatakura vanhu vana(four) inenge yakatakura vapfumbamwe(nine), yet we are avoiding crowds to minimize the spread of the disease,” he said.

Cholera is an acute diarrhea infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with bacteria and can kill within hours if left unattended.

Zimbabwe began a nationwide vaccination campaign last month to combat a cholera outbreak that has killed more than 400 people and infected over 20 000 since February 2023. The campaign aims to immunize 2.3 million people in 26 high-risk provinces with a focus on 29 hotspots where the disease is most dominant as the Minister of Health and Child Care mentioned.

“The introduction of the cholera vaccine is considered a crucial tool in preventing the further spread of the disease,” he said and added that the first three batches of 892,286 doses arrived last month and were dispatched to the affected districts.

The vaccine is administered by mouth and provides protection for at least six months. The campaign adopts a house to house approach, with fixed vaccination points in all healthcare facilities. The vaccination teams are expected to administer an average of 150 doses per day.

As much as the vaccines are helping curb the spread of the disease, they are not a permanent solution and it is important that residents and the council work together to minimize casualties of the disease.

Bindura council has improved greatly in providing safe water for its residents, of course there is room for more improvement but they are trying to keep their community safe from cholera, if the residents compliment the efforts of their municipality and improve cleanliness in their homes and avoid dumping trash everywhere, then the city can win against cholera.