Zimbabwe has declared a cholera outbreak that has claimed more than 560 lives to be a national emergency and called for international help to deal with the crisis.

Minister of Health David Parirenyatwa said Wednesday the country’s central hospitals are literally not functioning and appealed for money to pay for food, drugs, hospital equipment and salaries for doctors and nurses.

“Our staff is demotivated and we need your support to ensure that they start coming to work and our health system is revived,” he was quoted as saying.

At least 565 people have died from the cholera outbreak, which began in August, though some people say the real death toll could be much higher. Nearly 13,000 cases of cholera have been recorded over the same period. About 6,000 people have contracted the disease in recent weeks due to lack of water treatment and broken sewage pipes. Most of Zimbabwe’s capital has been without water since Sunday. Local media sources said the water was cut because of a lack of purification tablets.

The European Commission said it was providing more than $12 million for drugs and clean water while the International Red Cross was also releasing more funds to deal with the cholera.

“We need to pool our resources together and see how best we can respond to this emergency,” Agostinho Zacarias, the UN development programme director in Zimbabwe said.

The World Health Organization has already announced that it will offer its help after Mr. Parirenyatwa appealed for medical supplies and funds to pay hospital staff.

Cholera is an acute, diarrheal illness caused by infection of the intestine with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The infection is often mild or without symptoms, but sometimes it can be severe. Approximately one in 20 infected persons has severe disease characterized by profuse watery diarrhea, vomiting, and leg cramps. In these persons, rapid loss of body fluids leads to dehydration and shock. Without treatment, death can occur within hours.