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Ministers to meet over cholera

    JOHANNESBURG

    South Africa’s Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang met Water Minister Ronnie Kasrils and Local Government Minister Sydney Mufamadi in Durban on Tuesday to speed up the provision of clean water and sanitation to cholera-affected rural communities in northern KwaZulu-Natal, SAPA reported.

    Describing cholera as a “disease of poverty”, Tshabalala-Msimang said a lack of clean, piped, drinking water and the absence of flushing toilets were among the primary causes for its spread. Her spokesperson, Sibani Mngadi, said she and KwaZulu-Natal’s health chief, Professor Robert Green Thompson, visited clinics, rehydration centres and hospitals in affected areas by helicopter on Monday. Officials said the total number of reported cholera cases stood at 12,242 with 52 deaths.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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