It’s been three weeks since a fierce tropical cyclone tore through Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi, killing hundreds and leaving 600,000 people displaced. Now, as cholera begins to spread among the victims of Cyclone Idai, relief workers are worried a “second disaster” is on the horizon.
International Medical Corps has deployed a team of response experts to help those affected by the devastating cyclone that battered southeastern Africa on March 14 and 15. The United National Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that nearly 3 million people in Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe have been affected by Cyclone Idai’s torrential …
“We all had skin disease,” remembers Annah Dumane. “We didn’t know how to manage our waste. Our children suffered from scabies and people would sleep without washing.” The people of the San community, from Mtshina village in Tsholotsho district were traditionally hunter-gatherers. Recently, they have settled around the Plumtree area of Matabeleland, Zimbabwe. As relatively …
An outbreak of the rare infectious disease, Anthrax, has now been brought under control in rural Zimbabwe, due to the efforts of International Medical Corps and the Zimbabwean health authorities. A total of 40 people from the Mbire and Mount Darwin Districts were treated for the disease. Anthrax primarily affects animals but can be transmitted …
April 5, 2012— A series of typhoid fever outbreaks have been surging through central and southern Africa since early November 2011. Typhoid usually occurs when water and food sources get contaminated; recent cases of typhoid fever in Zimbabwe can be directly attributed to water and sanitation problems. Symptoms of typhoid can include high fever, flu-like …
Outbreaks of epidemic disease have long been a threat to lives and livelihoods in Mashonaland Central Province, Zimbabwe. A cholera epidemic in 2008, measles in 2009, and malaria in 2010 each caused hundreds of preventable deaths and starkly illustrated that Zimbabwe lacks the capacity to protect vulnerable populations from the threat of communicable disease. Following …
In much of Sub-Saharan Africa, keeping a child in school, particularly a girl, is an uphill battle. The lack of accessible education facilities and extreme poverty keep many children from consistently attending school. But the main reason keeping approximately 1 in 10 school-aged girls home is not a lack of pencils and paper, chores to …
After nearly a country-wide measles epidemic left more than 500 people dead, International Medical Corps joined forces with other global donors and organizations to help support Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Health and Child Welfare (MOHCW) in launching a nationwide immunization campaign and survey of affected areas. The initiative was a response to the recurring measles outbreak …
Through a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) grant, made possible with the generous support of the American people, International Medical Corps will increase water/sanitation/hygiene (WASH) programs in communities and schools in Zimbabwe. The project – benefitting 200,000 people including 75,000 schoolchildren – will draw on International Medical Corps’ existing relationships and experience working …
International Medical Corps has launched an emergency water and sanitation campaign in Zimbabwe in anticipation of a cholera outbreak that is expected to strike in the coming weeks with the onset of the rainy season. The project, made possible by the generous support of the American people, benefits 150,000 people living in three districts in Mashonaland …