MSF urges action on cholera in Zimbabwe

A leading international aid body has urged rapid action to counter the suffering caused by cholera in Zimbabwe.

Medecins san Frontiers (MSF) has sought to highlight the threat posed by cholera and the epidemic proportions of the disease in the country, where healthcare and infrastructure has collapsed.

The organisation has issued assessment of the situation in a paper entitled 'Beyond Cholera: Zimbabwe's Worsening Crisis', which states that it is virtually impossible for a great many people to access health due to corruption or sheer scarcity of resources.

International president of MSF, Dr Christophe Fournier, said: "The situation in Zimbabwe is causing inexcusable suffering.

"Urgent measures must be taken to ensure Zimbabweans have unimpeded access to the humanitarian assistance they so desperately need.

"Governments and international agencies must recognise the severity of this crisis and ensure that the provision of humanitarian aid remains distinct from political processes."

MSF has worked in Zimbabwe since 2000 and has treated some 45,000 patients since the outbreak of cholera in 2007.