By rehabilitating and building wells, the Johanniter aim to improve the drinking water supply in the province of Manicaland, and reduce the risk of cholera outbreaks.
In the 1990s, Zimbabwe was considered to be a country with stable economic growth and a flourishing agricultural sector. In 2008, however, the country placed 151st out of 177 states ranked on the UNDP's Human Development Index. Since 2000, living conditions have worsened dramatically due to widespread economic mismanagement and political instability. The network of roads and paths fell into ruin, and in 2008, sewage systems in large parts of the country collapsed, resulting in a cholera outbreak on an unprecedented scale. More than 100,000 cases of cholera were recorded between August 2008 and June 2009; some 4,300 people have died from the disease.
Manicaland Province is located in the mountainous highlands in eastern Zimbabwe. There, more than 13,000 people contracted cholera; 700 of them died as a result of the disease. With a population of around 1.6 million people, the province was among the regions that were worse affected by the 2008/2009 epidemic.
In the coming months, the Johanniter will rehabilitate several wells in Manicaland, as well as drill new wells. Additionally, natural water sources will be tapped and the water supply system improved. Through these improvements to the clean water supply, the organization hopes to reduce the risk of further outbreaks and prevent the spread of the cholera epidemic in Manicaland Province. Several locations will also benefit from the creation of washing platforms and hygiene courses. Once the construction work is completed, the water quality of all 21 water sources will be subjected to laboratory testing.
The fight against the 2008/2009 cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe was made even more difficult by the often inadequate sanitation infrastructure in hospitals and clinics. Many health care facilities still don't have access to clean water, and the facilities themselves are often in an extremely dilapidated state. For this reason, the Johanniter have chosen to focus mainly on wells located near health care facilities. These wells are expected to supply more than 55,000 people with clean water.
The project has a total volume of 215,939 euros, and is being co-financed with around 195,000 euros from Germany's Federal Foreign Office.
