It was a very simple prayer request from Milton & Chenayi Gadina, Awana missionaries in Zimbabwe. So basic that, if you knew nothing about the health and economic hardships presently going on in Zimbabwe, their request may pass by unnoticed.

They offered praise for:
• allowing us to enter 2009
• the family’s good health
• God’s provisions in such a harsh economic crisis

The reality is that in Zimbabwe, the economic breakdown is creating a health crisis. Inflation is currently running at 1,000,000%. That’s million. It is staggering to even consider.

According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Zimbabwe’s central bank revealed it will issue a new series of banknotes up to $100 trillion in Zimbabwean dollars as it struggles to keep up with hyperinflation, according to the state-run media. That bill will be worth about $33 US on the black market.

Only four days ago, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe announced it would be printing new $50-billion notes. Zimbabwe’s economic collapse has caused infrastructure to crumble, allowing the cholera outbreak that began last August to continue its spread as residents are left without clean water and prompt medical help.

The UN says about 1,550 new cases are reported every day, with a total of 42,675 people affected to date. Cholera outbreaks are common in developing countries but don’t typically kill more than one per cent of people infected. The UN World Health Organization estimates Zimbabwe’s fatality rate is around five per cent.

It is understandable now that Milton is thankful for good health and God’s provision.