Mugabe Acknowledges Cholera Epidemic

By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 17, 2009 1:21 PM CST
Mugabe Acknowledges Cholera Epidemic
Women carry water in buckets after collecting their load from an underground source, following a water cut in Harare.   (AP Photo)

Robert Mugabe has backtracked on his denial of the Zimbabwean cholera crisis, AFP reports. “He is acknowledging there is a problem,” said a UNICEF official who met with him today. “He recognizes there is a problem with the water and the sewer systems.” The admission comes as opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai returned to the country, Voice of America reports.

The cholera epidemic, which has killed more than 2,200, is exacerbated by the lack of services and the disastrous financial situation there. Inflation is running at 231 million percent. Tsvangirai, meanwhile, is back after more than 2 months and is scheduled to meet with Mugabe on Monday for talks on how to resolve the nation's political stalemate.

(More United Nations stories.)

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