As the death toll from Zimbabwe's cholera outbreak inches towards 3,000, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) today issued a desperate appeal for funding to keep its relief operations afloat, DPA reported. The Red Cross is leading the non-governmental response to the cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe. Its work, which includes rehabilitating the old and setting up new water supply, sanitation and cholera treatment systems, is critical to attempts to check the spread of the waterborne, diarrhoea-related disease. The scale of the operation is unprecedented in Red Cross terms - bigger, in terms of the number of emergency health units deployed than its response to the Myanmar cyclone last year. But the organization could have to suspend within a month if it doesn't receive new funds. "As it stands now, we won't be able to continue our operations beyond the next four weeks," Tony Maryon, head of the IFRC's team in Zimbabwe, said in a statement. In December, the Geneva-based organization appealed for 10.2 million Swiss francs (9.2 million dollars) in funding for the Zimbabwe cholera emergency. To date donors have only stumped up 40 per cent. In the meantime cholera continues to spread. The number of dead rose 20 per cent over the past week to 2,755. In total, 48,000 people are infected with the disease.
