Zimbabwe crisis hurting its health care, education

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Zimbabwe, in the midst of a political and economic crisis, is seeing school attendance plummet, hospitals and clinics close, record cholera cases and millions going to bed hungry, according to a senior U.N. humanitarian official.

Catherine Braggs, the U.N.’s deputy emergency relief coordinator, said Wednesday that Zimbabwe is in the throes of a humanitarian breakdown across many sectors, from food production and health care to education. Among the causes are three years of failed agricultural harvests, bad governance, economic policies, hyperinflation and sanctions, she said.

Braggs echoed Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s plea to donors Tuesday to disregard the political crisis in Zimbabwe and provide money for critically needed food and other aid.

At the moment, she said, just under 4 million people need food aid “and that number is going to rise as we go into the hunger season, traditionally between January and April.”

“The situation is acute and is expected to worsen by the end of the year, and probably get even worse in the beginning of the year,” she told a news conference. “So without massive assistance this situation is going to get much, much worse, not just food insecurity” but across many sectors.

Last year, the U.N. issued an appeal for just under $400 million for Zimbabwe for 2008, and received 75 percent of the request, which is considered a good response.

Because of the deteriorating situation in the last few months, the U.N. asked donors for an additional $180 million to $200 million to meet growing demands this year.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said earlier this month that donors had not responded to the appeal for additional funds, forcing it to start rationing cereal and beans. It warned food aid will run out by January unless it gets new funds.

In addition to the extra money for 2008, the U.N. this week appealed for $550 million for humanitarian aid for Zimbabwe in 2009.

Braggs said that compounding the shortage of food a breakdown in health services as well as the education sector.

“For a country that used to have over 90 percent school attendance, now we’re seeing less than 20 percent,” she said.

This is largely because aren’t being paid enough to cover their transportation to get to school and because students either can’t get to school or can’t pay tuition fees, Braggs said.

The same is true of medical personnel, she said. That, and the depletion of medical supplies, has resulted in the closure of major hospital and clinics, she said.

Braggs also cited a major increase in cholera cases, to almost 9,000, with 366 deaths as of Tuesday. “It’s higher than the country has ever seen,” she added.

The number of cholera cases and deaths “is directly traceable to the fact that many communities now have depleted their ability to provide clean water because of the lack of chemical treatment,” Braggs said.