The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is stepping up its response to the cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe, which has so far claimed more than 560 lives and over 12,000 cases, the agency said on Thursday.

A consignment of more than 13 tonnes of medical supplies arrived at Harare airport Wednesday night from the ICRC's regional logistics center in Nairobi, Kenya, the agency said in a statement.

The shipment included a complete cholera kit weighing over six tonnes and containing about 4,000 litres of rehydration fluids, infusion sets, antibiotics, needles, gloves and other medical supplies.

The items will be distributed in the coming days to health-care centers in the densely populated suburbs of the capital and elsewhere in the country.

The rest of the consignment -- seven tonnes of medical supplies-- will be distributed to ICRC-supported health facilities, which include 15 clinics and three district hospitals in remote rural areas.

According to health professionals, the spread of cholera has been aggravated by lack of access to safe water.

Some health-care facilities in Harare's suburbs are affected by this problem, and the ICRC continues to truck water to two clinics it has been supporting since the beginning of November.

(Xinhua News agency December 5, 2008)