Aids-hit Zimbabwe promotes cremation

Aids is undermining families and economies across Africa

By Grant Ferrett in Harare

The authorities in the Zimbabwean capital, Harare, have decided to embark on a publicity campaign to promote cremation rather than burial as an acceptable way of disposing of the dead in the face of the worsening Aids epidemic.

The city cannot afford to expand its cemeteries, which are running out of space, and hopes to encourage cremation as a way of saving resources.

But there is deep rooted cultural opposition to the idea.

Aids has wrought havoc in Zimbabwe, as in many neighbouring countries, destroying the traditional extended family and contributing to the collapse of the economy.

The role of burial

An estimated 200 people are dying every day as a result of the disease nationwide.

One thing it has not yet changed, though, is the widely held aversion to cremation.

The dead would simply not accept it [cremation]

Traditional healer

Many people believe that the burial ceremony is an important preparation for the body's journey after death and that destroying the human remains could also destroy the spirit.

Necessity, though, has pushed Harare city council towards challenging this cultural norm.

Official figures say that of the 16,000 people who died in the capital last year, fewer than 800 were cremated and the cemeteries are almost full.

The local authority has considered various options, such as expanding the cemeteries, but does not have the money.

'Un-African'

As part of its efforts to promote cremation, the city council points out that it's both quicker and cheaper than burial.

But a spokesman for Zimbabwe's traditional healers' association has dismissed the idea as un-African.

"The dead", he said, "would simply not accept it".