It is likely that at some point in the coming week, the 100,000th case of cholera will be officially reported in Zimbabwe. So far, 98,309 cases have been reported, with some 4,283 deaths.

100,000 cases: The spectre of cholera remains in Zimbabwe - a report issued today by the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society (ZRCS) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) - warns that although rates of infection have dropped over the past months, the risk remains.

"(The) eradication of cholera in Zimbabwe or the complete conclusion to this current epidemic is unlikely unless the underlying causes of the health crises are addressed," the report states.

"Central to this outbreak remains the almost complete collapse of Zimbabwe's basic water, sanitation and health infrastructure. Communities across the country are still without access to potable water and basic sanitation, and health facilities continue to be understaffed and under resourced."

The report notes that low funding for the Red Cross Red Crescent cholera operation - which at one stage was estimated to have constituted about 60 per cent of related humanitarian work in Zimbabwe - continues to have a negative impact.

"Unfortunately, because of this lack of funds, our operation had to be down-scaled earlier than hoped and earlier than had been needed," said Ms Emma Kundishora, ZRCS secretary general. "But now we have to look to the next phase of our operation, and we call again on donors to support these efforts."

The next phase will focus on mid- to long-term efforts to give 665,000 households in high-risk areas sustainable access to clean water and basic sanitation. For example, an estimated 3.75 million Swiss francs (3.44 million US dollars/2.47 million euro) is urgently required to rehabilitate 1,150 non-functional water sources, drill 263 bore holes and construct 3,755 latrines.

"The government estimates that the necessary rehabilitation of water and sanitation infrastructure will take years," said Stephen Omollo, the IFRC's representative in Zimbabwe. "Our efforts are designed to bridge this gap and we believe that this will reduce the likelihood of further cholera outbreaks."

Despite the lack of funding, the Red Cross Red Crescent cholera operation has produced significant results since it was launched in December 2008. Seventy-five treatment centres have been supported, 450,000 people have been given access to clean water, 700,000 water purification sachets have been distributed and 700,000 people have been reached with potentially life-saving information materials.

For more information please visit: www.ifrc.org/zimbabwe