Nearly 24,000 rural and displaced people in Zimbabwe are expected
to get clean water and sanitation facilities through a new project
aimed at reducing morbidity and mortality rates from waterborne
diseases among rural and displaced populations.

The project is targeting three districts of Guruve, Mbire and
Centenary in Mashonaland Central Province where the displaced also
include flood victims.

IOM and partners will improve access to safe water and
sanitation at household level as well as raise community awareness
on proper hygiene practices. Special focus will be on the
construction of pit latrines, rehabilitating broken-down water
systems, decontaminating water points, establishing and training
water point communities as well distributing hygiene kits.
Community health structures will also be resuscitated in the
process.

Zimbabwe’s collapsed water and sanitation infrastructure
and services have rendered the country particularly susceptible to
disease outbreaks, and are the main factors behind the prevalence
of waterborne illnesses there. Approximately 50 per cent of more
than 33,000 bush pumps are not functional. A shortage of manpower
resulting from socio-economic and political crises in the country
aggravated by inadequate financial resources has led to poor
maintenance of the country’s basic services, including water,
sanitation and health care. 

Displaced people are especially vulnerable to diseases such as
cholera, watery diarrhea, malaria and scabies as they often reside
in overcrowded informal settlements without adequate sanitation
facilities and clean water supplies.

The project, which builds on a broader programme that provides
emergency humanitarian assistance, helps displaced and vulnerable
communities to recover by improving food security, livelihood
earning potential and reintegration, will be carried out with over
USD 400,000 of support from the Swiss Agency for Development.

For further information, please contact:



Zuzana Jankechova

IOM Zimbabwe

Tel: 335044/48

Email: "mailto:zjankechova@iom.int">zjankechova@iom.int