The death toll from Zimbabwe's cholera epidemic has risen to 589, the United Nations said today.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on its website the number of cholera cases in Zimbabwe stood at 13,960. In the capital Harare, there had been 189 deaths, it said.
The spreading cholera, food shortages and economic collapse in the southern African country have prompted new demands from Western countries for President Robert Mugabe's resignation.
Mr Mugabe blames Western sanctions for Zimbabwe's hardship, while his critics accuse him of increasingly authoritarian rule.
South African officials visited Zimbabwe today to assess the scale of the crisis, responding to an unprecedented appeal for international help from Mugabe's government.
Basic foodstuffs are running out, prices of goods are doubling every 24 hours, and the 100 million Zimbabwean dollar a week limit for bank withdrawals buys only three loaves of bread in the once relatively prosperous country.
The crisis has been exacerbated by political deadlock between Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai over implementation of a power-sharing deal brokered by South Africa.
Zimbabwe's health system cannot cope with the cholera epidemic and the water supply network has failed. People have been drinking from contaminated wells and streams.
Reuters