The cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe is worsening. According to a World Health Organization report on 2 December, there has been a total of 11 735 cholera cases with 484 deaths since August 2008. According to another report in the New York Times, the United Nations stated that the number of deaths had risen to 565. The health care system in Zimbabwe has collapsed - hospitals do not have medicine or equipment to treat patients, healthcare workers are not paid, and many hospitals have closed down. In other words, thousands of cholera-stricken patients are unable to get medical treatment. Many have resorted to fleeing to South Africa to get medical aid that they could not receive in their country. The situation is not getting better. The lack of clean water means that the crisis means that more people are going to contract the disease.
The health crisis isn't the only problem Zimbabwe is facing. The economy is in dire straits. According to a CNN report, the inflation rate is 231 million percent! 231 million percent?! That's hyper-inflation! A simple loaf of bread costs 3 million Zimbabwe dollars! (Heh! And I complain that Bread Talk is expensive!)
Doctors and nurses have taken to the streets to protest the economic and health crises. The unions are also joining a mass movement to press the government to take action to solve the appalling health and economic problems. Even soldiers have taken to the streets because they were unable to afford basic necessities given their meagre salary. Unfortunately these protests were met with violence from anti-riot police.
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