Harare (dap) - The world marked the United Nations' first Global Hand-Washing Day Wednesday but in Zimbabwe, where a severe economic crisis has made clean water a precious commodity, handwashing can be downright risky. The UN introduced the day to highlight the importance of handwashing to prevent disease in a world in which about half the population does not have access to safe water. In parts of the Zimbabwean capital Harare residents go for more than three weeks without tap water, because the government of President Robert Mugabe is short on cash to pay for water purification chemicals. "For us here washing hands can be a luxury. There is no safe water. We now mainly depend on water from wells," said Shame Chinyani, a 27 year-old resident of Chitungwiza, a township of nearly one million residents about 30 kilometres...
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