Cholera, which has killed more than 1100 people in Zimbabwe, is merely the latest of the country's woes. Hunger has been an annual emergency since the drought of 2003. The peak hunger period is December to March. Already 4 million Zimbabweans are hungry and the number is expected to rise to 5.1 million by the end of January.

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Most people in normal health can survive cholera if the disease is treated without delay. But for people living with HIV and Aids, cholera is exceptionally dangerous. ActionAid's response to the cholera epidemic has concentrated on awareness and prevention in communities where we already work with people affected by HIV and Aids.

In Harare ActionAid has given training in basic cholera prevention and hygiene to eight partner organisations which together cover most of the high-density residential areas. They have been spreading simple messages about safe water, hand-washing, food preparation, toilets and what to do when someone shows symptoms of cholera.

All aid agencies are using a one-page cholera alert leaflet and poster with agreed wording, which is available in English, Ndebele and Shona. ActionAid has also commissioned a professional drama group, Zvido Zvevanhu (People's Wishes), to spread the same messages in a more entertaining and memorable way. On Monday 15 December the group gave the first of 16 planned performances.

ActionAid partners have distributed water purifying tablets to 3125 households out of a planned 25,000. Hygiene kits consisting of soap, cotton wool and a jerry can have been distributed to 1000 households. Funds are urgently needed to supply hygiene kits to a further 5000 households.

With the rainy season beginning, the cholera hazard will increase as refuse and sewage are washed into watercourses. ActionAid has begun a series of cleanup operations in urban areas.

Meanwhile the food situation is deteriorating. Many children are getting only one or two meals a day. Because of a poor response to the current crisis by international donors, the World Food Program is planning to halve rations at a time when they should be increased.

There are several reasons to expect that the next harvest will be poor. The rainy season, which would normally begin in November, has had a slow start. At the beginning of December most farmers had not yet planted.

There is a shortage of agricultural inputs such as seeds, fertiliser and diesel fuel. The limited supplies in the market are priced beyond the reach of small-scale farmers.

HIV and Aids have depleted the agricultural workforce. Many who could have been working in the fields are sick or caring for a sick relative.

ActionAid has responded to the deteriorating food situation in two ways.

More than 23,000 people in vulnerable groups, including orphans and people living with HIV and Aids, have been targeted with urgently-needed food aid. The rations consist of mealie meal (a local staple made from maize), cooking oil, beans and corn-soya blend, which makes a vitamin- and protein-rich porridge.

Food producers facing a difficult season have also been given help. ActionAid has provided seed and farming inputs for 1,400 women farmers in Hwedza, Makoni, Nyanga, Nkai, Chinoyi and other rural areas. 2000 women farmers have been trained in agriculture, food processing and preservation.

As part of a longterm programme in urban communities across Zimbabwe, ActionAid has helped to establish 20,000 household, school and community gardens which require minimal inputs. The low-input gardens have suffered in the dry conditions of 2008, but in areas like Harare where rain has begun to fall, they are being revived and will produce crops of greens, pumpkins, carrots and tomatoes during the next few months while other food is scarce.

Make a donation to ActionAid's Zimbabwe crisis appeal.