The ManicaPost
Tendai Gukutikwa
Post Reporter
With the Second Term set to begin next week on Monday, schools have put in place measures to ensure that cholera is kept at bay in the institutions.
Government has also come in to facilitate an enhanced cholera outbreak response which focuses on addressing water and sanitation needs, which is in line with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG6)’s call for clean water and sanitation for all.
Ever since the outbreak of the disease in February this year, Manicaland and Matabeleland Province have been the country’s hotspots for the water-borne disease, hence the need for school authorities in the province to tighten their seat belts as they welcome students back for the Second Term.
In Manicaland, Buhera, Chimanimani, Mutasa, Mutare and Nyanga Districts are all reeling under suspected and confirmed cholera cases.
Due to their proximity to neighbouring Mozambique which is facing its worst cholera outbreak in more than a decade, Buhera, Chipinge, Chimanimani and Mutare Districts are among the country’s 17 cholera hotspots that were identified by the Ministry of Health and Child Care last month.
Mr Shumba
Speaking after this week’s Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Senator Monica Mutsvangwa said so far, Manicaland has recorded 27.4 percent of the country’s suspected cases of cholera.
As of 29 April, the country had recorded 588 suspected cases of cholera, with 161 of them in Manicaland.
“In light of the continued increase in cholera cases, a multi-sectoral approach in responding to the cholera outbreak is being enhanced with focus on addressing water and sanitation needs in affected areas,” said Minister Mutsvangwa.
A total of 35 000 boreholes will be drilled in each of the country’s 35 000 villages and 9 600 boreholes at each of the country’s 9600 schools.
Already, 200 boreholes have been drilled in Manicaland under an arrangement between the governments of Zimbabwe and China.
Contacted for comment, Manicaland’s Provincial Education Director, Mr Edward Shumba said the health of all students is a top priority.
“We have to ensure that cholera does not wreak havoc in our schools and therefore precautionary measures must be put in place.
“This includes ensuring that there is clean water for consumption as well as maintaining high levels of hygiene in our institutions,” said Mr Shumba.
In Mutare, Chancellor Primary School’s headmaster, Mr Masimba Chihowa said: “We have done our part in preparing for the return of the students in light of the cholera outbreak.
“The provision of clean water has been top on our priority list and we are grateful that the local authority has ensured that we have had uninterrupted water supply. We hope supply won’t be interrupted once schools open.
“We have also heightened our hygiene levels to ensure that our pupils are safe at the school. In the same breadth, we will not be entertaining unnecessary visits by outsiders as we seek to ensure that our teachers and learners are safe,” said Mr Chihowa.
At Mt Selinda High School, a boarding institution in Chipinge District, headmaster Mr Needmore Maphosa said: “We are going a gear up in putting in place cholera preventive measures as we have students that come from different parts of the country.
“To that end, we have increased our cleaning manpower. This is meant to ensure that we increase the frequency of washing our ablution facilities. We have also activated systems to ensure that our learners, from day one, are more aware of the need for hygiene,” said Mr Maphosa.
Mr Chihowa
At Chikore High School, another boarding school in Chipinge, headmistress Mrs Stela Mudiwa said the institution has engaged an Environment Health Technician to look into their preparedness to host hundreds of students once schools open.
“It is also against this background that we are encouraging parents not to accompany their children when coming into our boarding facilities. We are doing all this for the safety of our learners and teachers.
“Hand sanitisers will also be used on entry points because we know we will have learners and people travelling from different areas,” said Mrs Mudiwa.
Regionally, eight out of 16 SADC countries have reported cholera outbreaks, with most suspected cholera cases reported in Malawi (58 171) and Mozambique (26 841).
Meanwhile, the country recently recorded 82 cases of Covid-19, with two of them in Manicaland.
The Ministry of Health and Child Care has been unrelenting in calling for people to get vaccinated and also to adhere to all Covid-19 preventive measures.
