Zimbabwe declares cholera emergency in Harare as death toll rises to 20

| Report Focus News — A man pushes a wheelbarrow containing relief food from a distribution centre in Chirumanzi, 250 km (155 miles) southeast of Harare, January 15, 2009. An estimated five million Zimbabweans, about 40 percent of the population, are surviving on food aid. Donors expect that number to grow, but they are also diverting money from food aid to fight a cholera epidemic that has already killed over 2,100 people and their appeals for more funding are not being met in full. Picture taken January 15, 2009. REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo (ZIMBABWE) - GM1E51G1J8K01

Zimbabwe has declared a cholera outbreak in the capital Harare. Health Minister Obadiah Moyo said on Tuesday that 20 people died from the disease and more than 2,000 people were infected after drinking contaminated water.

Harare city council has struggled to supply water to some suburbs for more than a decade, forcing residents to rely on water from open wells and community boreholes, Reuters said.

The latest cholera outbreak came after burst sewers in Budiriro and Glenview suburbs contaminated water in boreholes and open wells, which are used by residents, according to said Moyo. The government has asked for help from the United Nations agencies and private companies to supply portable water.