Zimbabwe’s Cholera Numbers Decreasing
It looks like the cholera epidemic that has been devastating Zimbabwe for months has passed its peak, according to the World Health Organization. In the most recent numbers, the number of new cases dropped to 2,000 a week in middle of March, reports the BBC. Earlier in the month, there were 3,800 new cases a week and there were 8,000 cases a week in February. “The situation with the current cholera outbreak is improving. …The overall trend over the last two months is of a decreasing number of cases and deaths,” the health organization said. But the weekly data aren’t always exact, WHO says, and the country’s Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said that the numbers were most likely a huge underestimate, reports the BBC. In addition, while the numbers have decreased nationwide, the number of cases in the capital, Harare, has been increasing. “The risk of the outbreak restarting in those areas of the country is real,” the report said. Since the start of the epidemic last August, there have been more than 90,000 cases of cholera in the country. About 4,000 people have died from the water-borne illness. 

Mandela’s Ex Can Run for S.A. Parliament
Even though she was convicted of fraud, Nelson Mandela’s ex-wife, Winnie Mandela, is eligible to run for a spot in South Africa’s Parliament during next month’s elections, officials ruled. Her opponents had argued that the nation’s constitution prevented her from running because of her conviction. But her party, the African Nation Congress, contended that since she was never actually sent to jail, she’s still eligible. And South Africa’s Independent Electoral Commission agreed. The Constitution says that anyone who is “sentenced to more than 12 months imprisonment without the option of a fine” cannot serve in Parliament until “five years after the sentence has been completed,” reports the news service. Winnie Mandela got a three-and-a-half year sentence in 2004 for the charges, but it was suspended for five years. Critics have argued that even though the sentence has been delayed, it’s still active. The commission has stood by its ruling stating, “The candidate is not disqualified from standing as a candidate in the election of April 22, 009. The objection is accordingly dismissed.” The opposing party, the Democratic Alliance, is waiting on further explanation before planning their next steps, reports the BBC.

The cholera epidemic is getting worse in Zimbabwe, with more than 3,000 people dying from the illness since its outbreak in August. In addition, 57,702 people have been infected with the water-borne disease, according to statistics from the World Health Organization. “The problem in Zimbabwe is that the infrastructure is obsolete, especially when it comes to water sanitation. People are going for months without tap water in towns,” an official from World Hunger Help, a group helping to fight cholera in the nation, told CNN.  The spread of cholera in the nation came at the same time as a doctor and nurse strike, which has lasted for five months. The health professionals are demanding that they be paid in foreign currency due to Zimbabwe money’s quickly diminishing worth because of a struggling economy. President Robert Mugabe did declare a cholera epidemic in the nation in December, but the international aid has not made the situation any better.

Congo Doctor is ‘African of the Year’ Dr. Denis Mukwege, who operates a clinic treating rape victims in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has been named “African of the Year” by a Nigerian newspaper. He says his award of $20,000 will be put toward funding a center to help rape victims come back into their societies, reports the BBC. In the conflict-ridden Congo, all of the warring sides have “declared women their common enemy,” Mukwege said.  His clinic, the Panzi hospital, assists women who’ve been raped with both physical and psychological injuries, including some who have contracted HIV from their attackers. “I am pleased to accept this award if it will highlight the situation of women in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo,” he told the BBC after accepting the award at a ceremony in Nigeria. This is the newspaper’s first African of the Year award. Former Tanzanian leader, Salim Ahmed Salim, was on the newspaper’s selection panel. “This is a person who has been involved in the protection of women under difficult circumstances, often at the risk of his own life,” he told the BBC. Mukwege was also given the Olof Palme prize for outstanding achievement in promoting peace.
Zimbabwe’s Cholera Deaths Near 2,000 The death toll from Zimbabwe’s cholera epidemic has reached 1,937, reports CNN. The outbreak of the water-borne disease started in August, and since then almost 40,000 people have been become infected by the illness, according to the World Health Organization. The spread of cholera is preventable, and some health experts blame the Zimbabwean government, led by controversial longtime President Robert Mugabe. The spread of the epidemic, they say, is mainly due to the failure to import enough water-cleansing chemicals. Many residents have had to get drinking water from rivers and wells because the water taps are dry; the nation’s trash-disposing systems aren’t operating. These factors serve only to worsen the situation, as it keeps many from having access to clean water. After Mugabe declared the epidemic a national emergency last month, worldwide charities such as WHO, Oxfam, USAID as well as some foreign governments have tried to help with the situation but there has been little improvement in that span of time.

Cholera Deaths Skyrocket in Zimbabwe. At the end of last week, the death toll from Zimbabwe’s cholera epidemic was 1,564, up from 484 earlier this month. Just since August, there have been 29,131 suspected cases of the waterborne illness. The surge of cholera is due to the nation’s crumbling health, sanitation and water services, reports the BBC.  It could take six months to take control of the outbreak, according to the United Nations. “The overall case fatality rate has risen to 5.7 percent – far above the 1 percent that is normal in large outbreaks – and in some rural areas it has reached as high as 50 percent,” the World Health Organization said in a statement. Many people don’t have any access to health care because facilities have closed. The news doesn’t get better when it comes to food aid; children’s charity, Save the Children, says about 5 million in the nation need food aid. Critics of longtime Zimbabwe leader Robert Mugabe blame him for the country’s problems, including having the world’s highest inflation rate. Progress on a power-sharing deal with opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has slowed because of disagreements over which party will control important cabinet positions.

Guyana to Cast Ballots. A bill passed in the South American nation’s parliament Monday, paves the way for local elections in Guyana after more than 14 years. The Local Authorities (Election) Amendment Bill passed with a 29-22 vote. The law allows the minister of local government to authorize local councils to hold elections (which have been postponed 12 times now) for mayor, or any other elected position, reports the BBC.  The move was rejected by opposition members who accused the ruling Peoples Progressive Party of trying to gain influence over local government. The minister of local government, Khellawan Lall, said that some municipalities were not operating and having meetings for years because there was no majority (quorum) there to hold an election. He added that local government needed “new blood” along with a new approach to doing things, reports Caribbean Net. Lall blamed the recent problems with flooding in cities on the lack of local leadership. “Flooding was exacerbated due to neglect and inappropriate dumping of garbage,” he said, adding that officials were instead using the Council to further their own political aspirations while showing “no evidence of management of municipalities.” Elections are scheduled for every three years, under the new law.

Old man shoots at rap fans. In Senegal, an elderly man, offended by a rap song about cranky old men, fired into a crowd of fans singing it at a concert, reports BBC. The man, who is 70, thought that fans were singing the song “Pa’Tang Xol” (Angry Old Men) about him and demanded them to stop. “The elderly gentleman felt that these young people were insulting him in their songs,” an officer told Reuters. When they ignored him, he shot into the crowd four times with a hunting rifle, seriously injuring two people. His own children were in the crowd when he fired but they were not hurt, according to the police. The man was arrested. The song, in Wolof language, is by Baaba Mal, a popular musician in Senegal. The fans were listening to the track before the live act took the stage at the concert in the Matam region of the nation, about 440 miles from Senegal’s capital, Dakar.
 

Almost 1,000 killed due to Zimbabwe cholera crisis. According to the United Nations, the cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe has killed 978 people and as many as 60,000 people could be infected with the water-borne illness, reports Bloomberg. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called living in the nation “unbearable” and addressed the nation’s political instability at a U.N. Security Council meeting. “We continue to witness a failure of the leadership in Zimbabwe to address the political, economic, human rights and humanitarian crisis that is confronting the country and do what is best for the people,” he said. Longtime leader Robert Mugabe, who has blamed the West for the outbreak, is in deadlocked talks to form a power-sharing government with opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. The World Health Organization has put together a “comprehensive cholera-response operation plan” for Zimbabwe and the government has agreed to it, said a U.N. spokeswoman. WHO is currently “in the process of procuring and distributing emergency stocks of supplies,” she said. The plan will cost $25 million to implement, according to Ban. Half of the nation’s population is expected to need food aid by March.

South African teens are getting high off HIV drugs. Teens in South Africa are reportedly buying medication used to treat HIV and AIDS and smoking it to get high. Patients and healthcare workers are selling them the meds, reports the BBC. “I couldn’t believe it. I was shocked at first, these were school boys in their uniforms,” documentary maker, Tooli Nhlapo, told the BBC. “They take a pill and grind it, until it is a powder. Some also mix it with painkillers and others mix it with marijuana. They showed me how they roll it and smoke it,” said the filmmaker. AIDS patients have been caught smoking their medication instead of using it as prescribed, which doctors say will not help treat the virus. The anti-retroviral medication acts as a hallucinogen and has the effect of relaxing those who smoke it. “When you look at them, just a few seconds after taking it, they are in another world,” Nhlapo said. Healthy people who smoke the drugs could be putting themselves in danger, according Dr. Kas Kasongo. “People who are healthy that are taking this medication are exposing themselves to potential side-effects of these drugs,” he said. He also said patients are also putting their health at risk by not taking the drugs as they are supposed to. “We don’t have more than 20 anti-retroviral drugs on the market and, remember, they have to be used in a cocktail of at least three or four,” he said. “Therefore, abusing a particular drug, whichever it is, is a concern because it can give rise to resistance to drugs within that same group.” 

Zimbabwe president says cholera outbreak is over. Despite what international health organizations are saying, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe believes that the outbreak in cholera in his nation is over, reports Reuters. “I am happy we are being assisted by others, and we have arrested cholera,” Mugabe said in a speech Thursday where he also accused the West of trying to invade Zimbabwe. “Now that there is no cholera, there is no case for war.” The water-borne illness, which is normally easily treated and prevented, has killed almost 800 people in the nation, and a United Nations agency says that number is on the rise.  The death toll rose to 783 and 16,403 Zimbabwean are believed to have cholera, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. “The figures speak for themselves. We hope that the joint efforts of the United Nations and government will contribute to halting the epidemic,” said a spokeswoman for the group in response to Mugabe’s words. And U.S. agency, USAID, also insists the outbreak is ongoing and that they are sending an additional $6.2 million in aid. “This is a cholera outbreak that is ongoing and urgent. This is clearly a humanitarian crisis,” an official from the group told reporters. The nation’s opposition movement, Movement for Democratic Change, whose leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, is in deadlocked talks to form a unity government with Mugabe, also denounced his claim. “We remain on the side of the people, while Zanu-Pf [Mugabe's party] remains on the side of terror,” and MDC statement said. French officials also accuse the Zimbabwe president of not letting in aid workers to slow the disease’s spread. “Contrary to what Mugabe says, the cholera epidemic is not under control. … France strongly regrets this decision and calls on Zimbabwe’s authorities to allow aid to reach the population,” a spokesman said. The disease could spread to 60,000 people if it’s not treated, says the U.N.

Cholera triggers a national emergency in Zimbabwe. The government of Zimbabwe late Wednesday declared that the cholera epidemic – which has claimed more than 500 lives, and the breakdown of the national hospital system – a national emergency, the state-controlled Herald newspaper reported. Health Minister David Parirenyatwa said there is a “critical shortage of resources” in the Zimbabwean health sector. “Our central hospitals are literally not functioning,” the Herald quoted Parirenyatwa as saying. “Our staff is de-motivated, and we need your support to ensure that they start coming to work and our health system is revived.” Doctors and nurses in Zimbabwean state hospitals have been striking on and off for the past year or more, but last month most of Harare’s main state hospitals essentially closed as medical staff walked off the job over low pay and abysmal working conditions, the paper reported. Additionally, clean drinking water is at short supply as the nation’s water and sewer systems have failed, thus exacerbating the epidemic. Parirenyatwa appealed to donors for medicine, lab chemicals, surgical materials, X-ray film, food to feed patients other materials lacking in the national health system. “The emergency appeal will help us reduce…mortality,” he said.