The UN Children's Fund in Zimbabwe says it is preparing to deal with a possible 60,000 cholera cases in coming weeks, four times current official estimates.
A man reads the Herald newspaper in Harare
The Unicef chief in Harare, Roeland Monasch, said such a jump could bring the number of deaths to around 2,700.
Regional newspaper commentators are calling on local leaders to unite in their efforts to curb a cholera epidemic spreading through Zimbabwe, though one South African writer cautions against a potentially "disastrous" military intervention.
Official figures say nearly 600 have already died from the disease but aid agencies fear the toll could be higher.
One commentator, writing in a Zimbabwean pro-government newspaper, disputes the right of the West to pass moral judgment, citing an obsession "with a racist illegal regime change" in the country.
UK PM Gordon Brown says it is an international crisis and the world must tell Robert Mugabe "enough is enough".
An opposition paper says that the cholera crisis has fatally undermined the incumbent regime.
Mr Monasch told the BBC that they were doing all they could to bring mortality rates down.
The escalating humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe needs serious attention not only from that country's politicians but from all southern African leaders. There is a need to find solutions to the problems in Zimbabwe. People in that country cannot afford to wait any longer.
He says the actual number of people who have already died is probably far higher than official figures as many clinics and hospitals are closed and people in rural areas frequently just bury their dead. Children in Zimbabwe are on the brink, and everyone's focus must now be on their survival Roeland MonaschUnicef
NAMIBIA'S REPUBLIKEIN
A spokeswoman for the aid agency Oxfam said the epidemic was getting out of control and would spread faster during the December-March rainy season.
Namibia, like the Southern African Development Community and the African Union, did not come to the rescue when it had to. It has let the people of Zimbabwe down. Namibia must not fail again to help its neighbours in this dark hour of crisis.
"We're looking at a situation where by January at least half the population are going to be without enough food to eat," said the spokeswoman, Caroline Hooper-Box.
KENYA'S STANDARD
"Already our staff are telling us about people who are eating only every two to three days.
Tongue-lashings will do little to end the Mugabe regime's abuses of its people¿ the continent's leaders¿ must pressure the despot into stepping down or accommodating the Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC in a power-sharing deal. While the latter option is clearly an unhappy compromise, it may be the only realistic option.
"These people are weakened by extreme hunger and disease - including HIV and Aids - and so when cholera hits, it's really quite fatal."
SOUTH AFRICA'S SUNDAY INDEPENDENT
Unicef's Zimbabwe Communication Officer Tsitsi Singizi said local authorities did not have the capacity to provide safe water and rubbish collection. Cholera is often linked to contaminated supplies of drinking water.
Deposing Mugabe will not necessarily help Zimbabweans because the [opposition] Movement for Democratic Change is not ready to govern. In such a vacuum - compounded by a foreign military presence and the absence of national cohesion - military intervention could turn disastrous.
Tsitsi Singizi said health services had also collapsed, making it impossible to treat the high number of infections.
SOUTH AFRICA'S PRETORIA BEELD
"The outbreak is really outpacing our response. It's becoming endemic. Nine out of 10 provinces have reported a cholera case."
The United Nations is busy with contingency planning for the possible fourfold increase in cholera cases in Zimbabwe¿ This could give rise to a renewed influx of sick Zimbabweans across the border of South Africa and other neighbouring countries.
Unicef has launched an emergency response programme to focus on providing basic services - increasing health outreach services, providing nutritional supplements, boosting school attendance, and increasing access to safe water in the short term.
ZIMBABWE'S HERALD
"Children in Zimbabwe are on the brink, and everyone's focus must now be on their survival," said Mr Monasch.
While the cholera problem is tragic and deserves our immediate attention, the political parasites in the Western world, obsessed with a racist illegal regime change in Zimbabwe, should be the last ones allowed to pass moral judgment on how President Mugabe and Zanu-PF deal with this matter.
The disease has spread to neighbouring South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia and Botswana.
ZIMBABWE'S STANDARD
Condemnation
Zanu-PF likes to think it is knowledgeable about everything, capable of finding solutions and therefore in total control. The cholera crisis, food and cash shortages and a collapsing health sector have shattered that notion.
The situation has forced President Mugabe's government to declare a national emergency and appeal for international assistance.
But it has also drawn increasing international condemnation of Mr Mugabe, including calls from key African figures for military force to oust him.
Mr Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai agreed to share power in September to tackle the country's economic meltdown but they have been unable to agree on the allocation of cabinet posts.
The deadlocked agreement followed disputed elections, which both men claimed to have won.
In the UK, the Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu joined in criticism of Zimbabwe's government and called for Mr Mugabe and his allies to be overthrown so they can stand trial in The Hague.
