The European Union will give more funds to Zimbabwe as soon as the country reaches a political settlement, an official said on Wednesday.

"We have pledged some nine million pounds to help deal with Zimbabwe's cholera epidemic, now spilling over into South Africa," said Amb Lodewijk Briet, the head of the delegation of the European Commission to South Africa.

"We stand ready to make available additional resources for reconstruction on the achievement of an internationally acceptable political solution in Zimbabwe".

He was speaking at the launch of a constitutional rights programme in Orange Farm outside Johannesburg.

The programme is a joint initiative by the department of justice and the EU to create awareness of people's legal rights.

"In this context, I believe that it is pertinent to flag the issue of Zimbabwe where untold human misery, destitution and hunger are increasingly threatening to destabilise the wider region," said Briet.

"Let me say just this: for how much longer can the world continue to stand by idly?"

His comments came as crisis-torn Zimbabwe reels from a cholera epidemic that has left hundreds dead.

Political players in the country have repeatedly failed to agree on a negotiated settlement for a government of national unity.