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Midlands Correspondent
The Ministry of Health and Child Care has said there is need to invest more in water and sanitation hygiene programmes in Mberengwa and Gokwe districts after the province recorded the highest cases of dysentery last week.

Director of epidemiology and disease control in the Ministry of Health and Child Care Dr Portia Manangazira said 400 clinical dysentery cases were recorded last week, with Midlands having the highest.

“Clinical dysentery cases reported last week across the country were 400 and no deaths,” she said. “The provinces which reported the highest numbers of clinical dysentery cases were Midlands (76) followed by Mashonaland Central (65).“

Dr Manangazira said there was need to accelerate investment in provision of safe water as this was a water and food borne disease.

“As for Midlands, access to safe water is still a challenge for Gokwe and Mberengwa districts where in some cases villagers resort to unsafe wells,” she said.

“According to our weekly disease surveillance, Gokwe South had 20 dysentery cases, Kwekwe 14 and Gokwe North recorded 24 cases. The statistics are quite high and for Kwekwe we attribute the situation to low levels of water supply in the mining town.”

Meanwhile, the new political dispensation has singled out water provision in rural areas as a priority and Government has embarked on drilling boreholes to improve access to safe water in rural households.

Midlands Minister of State for Provincial Affairs Owen Ncube has so far commissioned new boreholes in Lower Gweru, Silobela, Chiundura and Gokwe-Kana.

He said Government was committed to the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals for universal access to safe and affordable drinking water and sanitation for all by 2030