Zimbabwe
In June 2009, the cholera epidemic that had started in August 2008 was officially declared over. According to the UN, almost 100,000 people had contracted cholera and more than 4,000 people had died from the disease. Furthermore, the prevalence of HIV/AIDS here is among the highest in the world. MSF responded to the cholera outbreak, treating more than 65,000 people, and also provided treatment for HIV and tuberculosis (TB).
Cholera and malnutrition
By June 2009, MSF had treated 65,000 people. MSF also worked in prisons to treat cholera patients and to prevent the spread of the disease. In addition, teams responded to a severe malnutrition crisis in 13 different prisons, providing treatment and improving sanitation and water supply.
Fighting HIV/AIDS
According to the United Nations joint programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), there are 120,000 children living with HIV in Zimbabwe and at least one million children have been orphaned because of it. MSF increased the number of children under its care to nearly 1,000 and provided treatment to prevent mother-to-child transmission of the virus, as well as counselling and patient education. MSF responded to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in five districts: more than 52,000 people received care, 39,000 of whom were put on antiretroviral therapy (ART).
MSF has been improving TB care and integrating TB and HIV/AIDS services. HIV/AIDS care has also been decentralised in order to bring services closer to the patients’ homes, and nurses have been trained to administer ART. Such ‘task shifting’ frees up the doctors so they can concentrate on more complicated cases, and allows the nurses to carry out the daily HIV/AIDS care.
Nutrition
MSF is running nutritional programmes in Epworth, near Harare, and Buhera, further south in the country. More than 1,700 severely malnourished children were cared for in 2009.
Sexual violence
In collaboration with the Ministry of Health, MSF has been providing both medical and psychological help for survivors of sexual violence in Gweru, in the heart of the country. More than 180 victims of sexual violence were treated last year.
Healthcare for migrants
Due to the political and economic crisis of recent years, many migrants have been leaving Zimbabwe to go to South Africa. MSF opened a project in Beitbridge, near the border most used by migrants and on a commercial route between these two countries. On average MSF teams carried out more than 1,000 consultations a month there.
MSF has worked in Zimbabwe since 2000.
Report: Medical and Humanitarian Needs in Zimbabwe
“25% percent of the entire Zimbabwean population has fled Zimbabwe to neighbouring countries, especially South Africa, as a matter of survival. They are raped, beaten, and robbed while crossing the border, they struggle to find basic shelter and other assistance in South Africa, and they are subjected to xenophobic violence, abuse, and neglect, even when trying to access healthcare. There have been some positive developments in the past month regarding the legal status of Zimbabweans seeking refuge in South Africa, but the jury is still out on whether these new policies will improve the deplorable conditions in which they live.”
Rachel Cohen, MSF head of mission in South Africa
Despite the fact that many Zimbabweans risk their lives to flee Zimbabwe, the South African government has historically characterized them as ‘voluntary economic migrants’ and aggressively deported them. Zimbabweans say they had little choice but to leave and thousands continue to cross the border every day, legally and illegally, as a matter of survival.
This report highlights the plight of Zimbabweans seeking refuge in South Africa, the appalling conditions in which they live, and their ongoing lack of access to adequate protection, shelter, and basic services, particularly health care, in South Africa.
Download the report [PDF 4.5MB]
News Articles
Zimbabwe: Patient’s story - 18 August 2009
Zimbabwe: Beyond cholera, six months after the crisis - 18 August 2009
Zimbabwean nightmare of neglect continues in South Africa - 02 June 2009
Zimbabwe: Left outside in the heat - 11 March 2009
Zimbabwe: Refugees from South Africa left vulnerable - 04 March 2009
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