MAP International is airlifting additional emergency medicines to the south African country of Zimbabwe, which is still reeling from a cholera epidemic that has affected the nation since August of 2008.
MAP is sending critically-needed medicines and medical supplies to Mpilo Hospital in Zimbabwe's city of Bulawayo, where 411 cases of cholera and 14 related deaths have been reported in February alone. Mpilo is the main referral hospital in this city of 800,000 inhabitants.
Dr. Ravi Jayakaran, senior director of global programs for MAP International, said MAP's help is greatly needed in the area.
"With the health system severely strained by economic pressures and with the cholera outbreak worsening, health facilities are finding it extremely difficult to assist their patients," he said. "The needs in the region are tremendous, and they simply can't be met without organizations like MAP International to help."
Once in country, the medicines will be used by MAP partner World Vision, which has been operating programs in Zimbabwe since 1973.
According to the World Health Organization, there have been more than 83,000 cases of cholera reported throughout the country and more than 3,800 people have died from the disease, which is extremely contagious. MAP began responding to the crisis in September and has now shipped more than $1 million in emergency medicines and medical supplies to the country.
Once relatively prosperous and regarded as southern Africa's "breadbasket," Zimbabwe now suffers from drought, soaring unemployment rates and the world's highest inflation. The country also has one of the world's lowest life expectancies, which is a mere 43 years for women. Forty-five percent of the population is malnourished, and many people remain dependent on humanitarian aid. The country's health care infrastructure has also deteriorated as the availability of both medicines and medical professionals has decreased significantly.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
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