By A Correspondent
A document obtained by ZimEye.com from the Ministry of Health and Child Care has confirmed that at least 70 people have died from diarrhoea-related illnesses across Zimbabwe since the beginning of 2025—laying bare the deteriorating state of the country’s public health system under President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration.
The internal disease surveillance report, dated June 2025, paints a grim picture of widespread infections and preventable deaths, exposing systemic failures in sanitation, access to clean water, and critical drug availability.
“The cumulative number of deaths due to common diarrhoea stands at 70,” the report reads. “The cases are widespread and have been reported across all provinces, with high incidence in communities lacking access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation.”
The report reveals that between January and early June, thousands of diarrhoeal cases were recorded, with the Ministry attributing the spike to poor water quality, unhygienic conditions, and a crumbling healthcare infrastructure.
“Major contributing factors include consumption of contaminated water, poor hygiene practices, and limited access to health care services due to ongoing stockouts of essential medicines,” the document states.
The report highlights that in several districts, clinics are unable to provide even basic medical responses. “Some health centres are operating without oral rehydration salts, antibiotics, or intravenous fluids—leaving both children and elderly patients vulnerable to severe dehydration and death,” the ministry warns.
The Ministry of Health and Child Care has recommended urgent nationwide interventions. These include “the immediate restoration of water and sanitation infrastructure, reinforcement of hygiene promotion activities, and emergency medical supply distribution to affected areas,” according to the report.
Despite these recommendations, critics argue that the report serves as further proof of chronic government neglect and mismanagement. While the Ministry admits to the crisis, the report does not outline any decisive action already taken—only what “should” be done.
As the death toll continues to rise, the Ministry’s own data now stands as a damning indictment of the Mnangagwa administration’s inability to protect its citizens from one of the most basic and preventable public health threats in the 21st century.