Use of sewage-contaminated water to irrigate crops poses disease risk in Zimbabwe, IRIN reports

Apr 17 2012

IRIN examines how local Zimbabwean farmers' usage of water containing raw sewage to irrigate their crops poses a risk of disease transmission to people who consume the vegetables. In the capital Harare, less than half of the raw sewage produced is treated before being sent back into tributaries, according to IRIN, which notes, "In a recent report, Harare mayor Muchadeyi Masunda said 60 percent of the capital's residents did not have access to clean water, and 10 percent relied on boreholes and unprotected wells." Since a cholera outbreak in 2008, UNICEF and other international donors have been helping Zimbabwean municipalities treat their water, but the UNICEF program is winding down, leaving some unsure whether local authorities "can go it alone," IRIN writes (4/16).