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| Morgan Tsvangirai, centre, leader of the main opposition party in Zimbabwe is flanked by bodyguards upon his arrival at Harare International Airport. |
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Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has met United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) executive director Ann Veneman, amid the cholera epidemic prevailing the Southern African country, The Herald reported on Saturday.
In an interview after meeting Mugabe at Zimbabwe House in Harare on Friday, Veneman said everyone in the country was working hard to contain the cholera outbreak. "I think everybody is trying hard to fight cholera, but I do not think it is yet under control," she said.
Veneman said her discussions with President Mugabe centered on children's issues. She said UNICEF was providing assistance to 250,000 orphans and vulnerable children in Zimbabwe.
Veneman said UNICEF was playing a big role in Zimbabwe, including the provision of essential medicines and water treatment chemicals.
Veneman arrived in Zimbabwe on Thursday and is set to leave for her New York base on Saturday.
Last year, UNICEF provided aluminium sulphate for water purification enough to last four months. It has also contracted trucks to expedite the removal of refuse in Harare and curb the spread of cholera and is providing water bowsers in suburbs facing erratic supplies.
UNICEF launched a 120-day emergency response to intensify relief efforts in the country's educational and health sectors in December under which it is expected to increase health outreach services, provide nutritional supplements and boost school attendance, among other things.
UNICEF has since appealed for 17.5 million U.S. dollars to boost its 120-day emergency plan, following an appeal by the Zimbabwean government for assistance to combat cholera and to resuscitate the health sector, which has been hit hard by illegal Western sanctions.
Edit by Lv Sha (XFN)
