IOM has handed over radio communications equipment to Zimbabwe's
Ministry of Health and Child Welfare in an effort to improve
disease outbreak reporting and response times at rural health
centres in remote border areas.

The donation, funded by the European Commission Humanitarian Aid
Department (ECHO), is part of a broader project on Cholera
Emergency Surveillance and Response in border areas including
Hurungwe, Mbire, Mt. Darwin, Mudzi, Mutare, Chipinge, Chimanimani
and Chiredzi.

Each district will get the equipment it needs to bridge the
communication gap between rural health centres and district
hospitals. The equipment will help the public health system to
respond faster to cholera and other disease outbreaks, and to
control their spread.

One of the major challenges encountered in the August 2008
– July 2009 cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe was inadequate
communication between rural health centres and the district
level.

This resulted in slow reporting, slow responses, and diminished
capacity at the rural health facility level to respond and treat
cases, due to the difficulty of relaying their supply needs to the
district level.

Revitalizing the radio communication system will improve
surveillance and reporting capacity, while providing a longer term
solution to the current communication gaps.

In addition to revitalizing the radio communication system, the
ECHO-funded project is also speeding up response times to reported
outbreaks through the provision of supplies and human resource
support, construction of pit latrines at border posts with poor
water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure, providing cholera
case management refresher trainings to primary health care staff,
and training community members and leaders on health and hygiene
promotion.

For more information please contact:

Zuzana Jankechova

IOM Zimbabwe

Tel: +263 4 335048

E-mail:  "mailto:zjankechova@iom.int">zjankechova@iom.int