HARARE , Zimbabwe ( CNN ) -- A child cries from hunger , but no tears come from her swollen eyes . A Zimbabwean family bury their relative , who died of cholera , 25km from Harare , Zimbabwe . Malnutrition has left this baby born in Zimbabwe fighting for her life . She is the face of an unfolding crisis in a country once known as Africa 's bread basket . Today a loaf of bread costs $ 35 million worthless Zimbabwean dollars , and people are forced to sift through garbage piles for any morsel of food . Others huddle for warmth around a fire burning inside the shell of a broken-down van . All of these images were captured on video recently smuggled out of Zimbabwe by Solidarity Peace Trust , a South African human rights group . Watch the disturbing images » . Zimbabwe 's government maintains that the situation is being exaggerated by the West in an effort to exert pressure on President Robert Mugabe to leave office . But the World Health Organization ( WHO ) says the desperate situation has triggered a widening cholera outbreak that has killed 775 people and infected more than 15,000 . `` You have to eat in the same place you sleep right next to the buckets , the same buckets that we used as toilets , '' one cholera patient says on the video . `` There is no water to bathe . '' And little to eat . Women foraging for food in the bush find dry branches with only a few berries . `` This packet of juice will be my supper tonight , '' one woman says . Zimbabwe 's main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai -- who is still trying to form a unity government with Mugabe under a recent power-sharing deal -- said the situation can only be addressed once a `` legitimate government '' is in place . `` Once there is a legitimate government , it is up to that government to deal with the problems the country is facing , which are quite wide-ranging , '' Tsvangirai told CNN on Wednesday . `` But the immediate intervention of the health crisis has exacerbated the situation to the extent that it has now become an international crisis . '' The WHO says the current cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe has a high fatality rate because sufferers are either not able to reach health centers in time or that the health centers lack the capacity to treat the cases . `` The epidemic is clearly on the increase , '' Dr. Eric Laroche , a WHO official in Harare , told CNN on Wednesday . `` I think it 's going to last for several months . '' In addition to the WHO , the Red Cross has responded to the outbreak and is sending staff and medical supplies into Zimbabwe . Zimbabwe 's main hospitals have all but shut down and the small clinics equipped by international aid organizations are overcrowded and unable to cope with the thousands of cholera patients . Health workers inside Zimbabwe believe scores are dying at home . Laroche said the WHO is receiving cooperation from the government , but the health care system is abysmal . `` The quality of the care , the supplies that come inside Zimbabwe , also need to be restored , '' Laroche said . `` So there 's a lot of work to do , because the health system is collapsing for the time being . '' One Zimbabwean health care worker , who would not show his face on the video , said he fears the death toll will skyrocket . `` People are dying even at the health institution , '' he said . `` It 's beyond control . We are going to witness so many deaths in the coming weeks . '' He expressed frustration that so many people are dying from cholera , a disease that `` is both preventable and curable . '' `` Nobody should die from cholera , '' he said . `` We are quite unfortunate . '' Zimbabwe , already experiencing an economic crisis , was struck with the raging water-borne cholera in August . Health experts say the battle against the disease can only be won if Harare has adequate water-treating chemicals and disposes of refuse properly . Zimbabwe 's information minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu said Tuesday that the country has enough chemicals to purify water and enough money to buy pipes to mend sanitation lines . He maintained that the outbreak is under control , blaming the West for causing the crisis as an excuse for military intervention . International leaders -- including U.S. President George W. Bush , French President Nicolas Sarkozy , and Kenyan premier Raila Odinga -- have recently called for Mugabe to step down for failing to contain the cholera outbreak . Frustration inside Zimbabwe is building . Last week , doctors and nurses protested over the lack of medical supplies and other resources at the country 's hospitals . Labor unions have protested over the deteriorating economy . Even soldiers once shielded from economic hardships by the Mugabe regime went on a rampage last week when they were unable to access wages from the country 's banks . Human rights activist Elinor Sisulu , who has lived and worked in Zimbabwe and now coordinates civil action outside the country , called on African leaders to demand Mugabe step down before Zimbabwe explodes . `` In any population where you have high levels of desperation , anger and ... people arrive at the conclusion that we 've tried a peaceful political process and this is not working , then anything can happen , '' she said . -- CNN 's Nkepile Mabuse in Johannesburg , South Africa contributed to this report .
WHO : Nearly 775 people have died in Zimbabwe from the outbreak . WHO maintains that the situation is being exaggerated by the West . The number of overall cholera cases is also on the rise , hitting 15,141 . Cholera outbreak is part of a larger humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe .