The cholera epidemic ravaging Zimbabwe was only one symptom of an utter collapse of the country's health system. This is according to a report by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), a member of the International Federation of Health and Human Rights Organisations.

The report, entitled ‘Health in Ruins: A Man-made Disaster in Zimbabwe', documented how the human rights violations that have taken place under the long-standing President Robert Mugabe have contributed to this man-made disaster.

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu said, in a statement endorsing the PHR's release, that the report documented that the people of Zimbabwe were being denied the most basic of life's necessities - "access to healthcare, food, clean water, even life itself". Tutu called for the world to take action against the Mugabe regime for these crimes against humanity.

CEO of Physicians for Human Rights and contributor to the report, Frank Donaghue, added that Mugabe's regime had violated international human rights and abrogated the most basic State function in protecting its people's health.