sewer pipes and uncollected garbage . Cholera is an intestinal disease cause by bacteria in contaminated water . The epidemic was followed a month later by a strike by doctors and nurses demanding a review of their salaries . They are demanding that archaic hospital equipment be replaced and that medicines be available in hospitals . The health emergency comes at a time when Zimbabwe is mired in the worst economic crisis it has faced since it gained independence from Great Britain in 1980 . Last week , the United Nations ' Children 's Fund -LRB- UNICEF -RRB- gave $ 5 million to Zimbabwe 's ailing health sector to help end the industrial action by health personnel . As Tsvangirai was visiting the cholera affected areas , some residents could be seen getting water from the wells and rivers . Most suburbs in Harare have had no water for close to two weeks , forcing residents to depend on shallow pits and rivers for drinking water . The Zimbabwe National Water Authority was quoted by the state-owned media Saturday attributing the dryness to a water pump which had broken-down . The areas particularly affected include the townships of Glen Norah
HARARE , Zimbabwe -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Zimbabwe 's opposition leader called the cholera outbreak in his country a `` man-made crisis , '' as new figures released Thursday showed the death toll had soared to more than 2,700 . Morgan Tsvangirai tours a cholera ward at Budiriro Polyclinic in Harare Thursday . Some 2,755 have died and 48,623 people are suspected to have been infected with cholera since last year , the World Health Organization -LRB- WHO -RRB- said . Opposition party leader Morgan Tsvangirai , speaking to reporters , pointed a finger at the Mugabe government . `` Cholera in Zimbabwe is a man-made crisis . The problem we have here is coupled with -LRB- the -RRB- fact of negligence on the part of government to provide the necessary facilities . It shows the collapse of the health delivery system , '' said Tsvangirai . The Movement for Democratic Change leader 's comments came after he toured some of the worst affected areas in the country 's capital , Harare . Zimbabwe 's cholera epidemic , which started in August , has been aggravated by erratic water supplies , shortages of water purification chemicals , broken water and