AUTHORITARIAN RULE
Zimbabwe disease disasters justify Mugabe’s removal as WHO envoy
A dire shortage of drugs and basic equipment have spawned many horror stories of unnecessary deaths
Typhoid and cholera are never far from the headlines in Zimbabwe. In 2008, the country lost more than 4,000 citizens to one of the worst outbreaks of cholera the world has seen. It was not the first occurrence, nor the last. Many people have resorted to using dirty, untreated water in cities where utilities, worn down by years of neglect, fail to deliver services. Many citizens in the capital, Harare — where the worst outbreaks of disease have been felt — have not had municipal water for more than a decade. The problems are worsened by widespread and growing poverty, with unemployment above 90% as economic hardship continues to bite. So the outrage over the aborted appointment of President Robert Mugabe as a World Health Organisation goodwill ambassador is appropriate, despite the government’s attempts to dismiss it as a western plot. Mugabe has presided over the steady destruction of a health system that was once one of Africa’s best. A dire shortage of drugs and basic equipment ha...
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