The United Nations Children's Fund is appealing for US$17.5 million to boost its 120-day emergency plan to scale up the cholera response in Zimbabwe, The Herald reported on Monday.

The emergency plan will provide incentives for teachers, procure essential medicines for hospitals, and provide logistical support needed to help put social services back on track in the country.

UNICEF launched the emergency plan last week after the Zimbabwean government declared cholera a national emergency.

In a statement, UNICEF acting country representative Roeland Monasch said poor management of cholera cases because of inadequate resources had resulted in a high fatality rate of 4.8 percent, above the average one percent internationally.

According to UNICEF's 120-day emergency plan, all urban areas should be provided with water treatment chemicals for the next four months and cholera treatment centers should be supplied with medicines and equipment.

The humanitarian organization has plans to provide essential medicines for 1,780 health facilities in 62 districts of the country while helping communities to manage acute malnutrition.

Since the government declared cholera a national emergency, UNICEF has responded by providing intravenous fluids, drips, tents and beds for cholera treatment centers.

UNICEF is also trucking in 470,000 liters of water daily, drilling boreholes and distributing water purification tablets. To complement specialists brought into the country by the World Health Organization and other non-governmental organizations in controlling the outbreak, a team of 12 emergency health experts from UNICEF is working in the sectors of water, sanitation, health, education, child protection and nutrition.

(Xinhua News Agency December 16, 2008)