A deadly cholera outbreak has started to worsen the health problems of Zimbabwe. Despite the fact that the monetary crisis they have been dealing with for almost a year is nearly ending, the inhabitants are now facing even serious problems. While the new cabinet of Zimbabwe’s unity government met on Tuesday for the first time, Medicins Sans Frontieres announced that the state of the country isn’t so good regarding the health issues.

According to the World Health Organization, this cholera outbreak is one of the biggest disease outbreaks that had ever taken place in the world. Also the international agencies stated that the situation is getting worse and could represent an important regress to other epidemics and health crisis.

Cholera causes severe diarrhea, vomiting and dehydration. If the disease is not treated quickly it may easily lead to death. The death toll shows that 3,623 people died and 76,127 people have been infected with cholera since August. Medicins Sans Frontieres released a report on Tuesday through which they announced that new patients have been registered at a rate of one minute since February.

The association also stated that Zimbabwe would see some very difficult problems accompanied by a worsening of the medical emergency situation that could become out of control unless urgent action is taken. Donors have been asked to put aside the economic problems and provide help for this issue, because the international community has been very slow until now.

This last year has meant very much for the Zimbabwean government because they have issued with the elections, the opposition charges of fraud and the unity of the government, thus leaving the cholera problem aggravating. Being a time when a lot of money was needed for politics, the sanitation system has failed in offering proper conditions.

Medicins Sans Frontieres said that the lack of clean water together with the blocked sewage systems and the “uncollected refuse overflowing in the streets,” lead to this cholera outbreak. Also the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wrote on its Web site about the terrible condition. They explained that the disease is contracted "by drinking water or eating food contaminated with the cholera bacterium.”

In addition, the flooding which had been left from the rainy season which began back in November helped the bacteria circulate a lot faster through the narrow rivers. All the provinces of Zimbabwe have reported cases of cholera. And yet, the government and the political system are the only ones who have let this matter worsen to such a great extent.

The chief of Medicins Sans Frontieres’ mission in Zimbabwe, Manuel Lopez, stated that the cost of sending a team of doctors and researchers to such a dangerous place almost costs more than the drug which might cure the disease. The high fees for visas and the work permits are often threatening the operations. Lopez also explained that the permission for traveling and operating inside the country often take months to be released and might not even be approved.