Author: Josh Panashe

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CONCERN OVER HYPERTENSION . . . prevalence estimated at about 30 percent of population

Credits: H-metro by Tanaka Mahanya 07 April, 2023

ZIMBABWE is experiencing a rise in non-communicable diseases with hypertension now top of the list.

The country joins the rest of the world in commemorating World Health Day.

It will be held under the theme ‘‘Health for All’’.

The theme resonates well with the growing global call for Universal Health Coverage (UHC), which seeks to ensure that people have access to the healthcare they need, without suffering financial hardships.

The Community Working Group on Health (CWGH) has called on the Government to ensure that health services are available, accessible and affordable to every citizen of Zimbabwe.

In a statement, CWGH executive director, Itai Rusike, said the country was experiencing a rise in non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

“Rapid, unplanned, unregulated urbanisation and changes in lifestyles as people migrate from rural to urban areas are causing an increase in the risk factors that cause NCDs and conditions such as injuries, disabilities and substance abuse.

“The prevalence of hypertension is estimated at about 30 percent of the total population, which is higher than HIV, tuberculosis and diabetes.

“Addressing the burden of non-communicable diseases constitutes an integral part of achieving good health and well-being.”

Rusike said targets had been set to reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment by one-third by 2030.

“The country also suffers a high burden of cancer with the cervical cancer burden being within the top five in the world. “Treatment costs for all cancers remain very high, inconsistent and unaffordable for most people.”

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Cholera: Experts call for access to clean water

Credits: Newsday By Lorraine Muromo and Vanessa Gonye | Mar. 30, 2023

health experts have urged government to ensure citizens have access to clean potable water to stop the spread of waterborne diseases such as cholera.

The country has witnessed a number of cholera cases with suspected cases in 10 provinces numbering 267, while 209 recoveries and two deaths were recorded. Cabinet on Tuesday approved a budget of US$24 168 353 for cholera preparedness and response plan.

Community Working Group on Health executive director Itai Rusike said to effectively deal with cholera, government should deal with fundamental public health issues like access to water.

“The current cholera outbreak is occurring in the context of frequent water and power cuts, and a breakdown of rubbish collection. Advice to boil water is difficult to follow during water and power cuts. The situation on the ground indicates that while water and sanitation infrastructure exists, these are old and malfunctioning and tariff structures are needed to protect poor households’ access,” Rusike said.

He said unsafe environments continued to be a health threat, particularly for poor households and should be more focused on high-density suburbs and rural areas, where significant gaps remain in terms of access to safe water and sanitation.

Medical and Dental Private Practitioners Association of Zimbabwe president Johannes Marisa said while government’s US$24 million pledge towards fighting cholera was welcome, water and sanitation issues should be prioritised.

“It’s needless to fight symptoms when the predisposing factors are dominant, water and sanitation should be robust and up to standard if we are going to contain cholera. Monitoring and surveillance is also important, as well as education on cholera and its symptoms.”

 

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Zim cholera cases rise to 98

Credits: Newsday By Vanessa Gonye | Mar. 17, 2023

ZIMBABWE recorded 31 new suspected cholera cases on Wednesday, bringing the total to 98, with health experts, calling on local authorities to improve access to water and sanitation to avert a national disaster.

In a daily situation report on Wednesday, the Health and Child Care ministry said there was one casualty, while three of the suspected cases tested positive to the diarrhoeal disease on the day.

“The 31 new suspected cholera cases and 3 laboratory confirmed cases were reported today (Wednmesday). These were reported from Centenary (15), Beitbridge (11), Chegutu (4) and Chivi (1),” the ministry said.

“Fourteen of the suspected cases and one suspected death brought in dead (BID) were Mozambican nationals from Kadunje Village who sought treatment at Chiwenga Clinic, Centenary district, Mashonaland Central province, bordering Mozambique.”

The first two cholera case were recorded in Chegutu last month.

“As of 15 March 2023, one case is hospitalised at Chivi District Hospital Cholera Treatment Unit (CTU), Masvingo province. Zimbabwe has 98 suspected cholera cases, eight confirmed cases, 97 recoveries and one death,” the ministry said.

The country’s worst cholera outbreak occurred in 2008, which left more than 4 000 dead and another 40 000 infected.

Community Working Group on Health executive director Itai Rusike said recurrent cholera outbreaks exposed lack of maintenance of the country’s water and sewer reticulation infrastructure.

“Inadequate access to water and sanitation infrastructure is a major source of health challenges and disease outbreaks such as cholera,” Rusike said.

“The aging and unrepaired sewer systems, waste put in sewers due to poor waste collection, illegal waste dumps, overflowing septic tanks and frequent water and power cuts are also causative factors. Most sewerage reticulation systems and treatment works are in a state of disrepair, raising the risk of diarrhoeal diseases including cholera.”

Tinashe Mundawarara, a health policy specialist said Zimbabwe needs to improve its access to water and sanitation.

“From a policy perspective, our health system will always be judged on its responsiveness, that is, will the Ministry of Health be able to stop the spread and at the same time ensure adequate health care provision for those with immediate need? The next few days will be critical on these two issues and funding will be an urgent need,” Mundawarara said.

 

 

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More men dying than women: ZimStat

Credits: Newsday By Priveledge Gumbodete | Mar. 15, 2023

ZIMBABWEAN men are dying more than women, latest statistics from the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) have revealed.

The report, based on the 2022 population and housing census, shows that 120 070 deaths were recorded during the census with 53,6% of the dead being men and 46,4% being women.

Last year, ZimStat preliminary national census results revealed that females constitute the majority of the population, numbering 7 889 421 or 52%, compared to the male population of 7 289 588 (48%).

This was also followed by another set of results showing that life expectancy for females now stands at 68 years compared to male life expectancy which is 61,2 years.

“A total of 120 070 deaths were recorded during the census. Male deaths constituted 53,6% of the total deaths recorded during the census. Throughout all age groups, males had higher mortality rates compared to females,” the report read.

Community Working Group on Health executive director Itai Rusike said health-seeking behaviour among men is poor compared to women.

Rusike said clients at health centres are often women and children less than five years.

“There is a particular focus in primary healthcare on women and children due to their vulnerability and the fact that their ill-health affects the wider community. Apart from the general inputs that all people need for health, women also need services to support safe reproductive health, prevention of mother-to-child transmission of infections such as HIV, child delivery and care, including nutrition during pregnancy,” Rusike said.

“The spread of health information, improvement of nutrition, safe living and community environments are key to disease prevention amongst men. Prevention and management of common diseases also depends on early detection and treatment. We are also aware that unhealthy lifestyles such as smoking cigarettes and alcohol abuse are a lot more prevalent in men compared to women.”

Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights secretary Norman Matara said quantitative research is needed to establish why more men were dying than women.

Matara said women practice self-care while men are reckless.

“This is why most men died during the census period compared to women.”

Zimstats data also showed that 78 384 deaths constituting 64,7% were registered while unregistered deaths constituted 30,3% and 5,0% had an unknown status.

 

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‘Zim health sector in dire straits’

Credits: Newsday By Sharon Buwerimwe | Mar. 14, 2023

THE country’s health sector has been plunged into dire straits as poor remuneration and working conditions drives qualified health professionals into the diaspora where they are being employed as simple nurse aides, health experts have said.

The country has over the years recorded a mass exodus of skilled workers, who have opted for menial foreign jobs owing to poor remuneration back home.

Currently, the country has lost at least 3 000 nurses to the UK alone in the past two years.

Salary negotiations have yielded little and have resulted in perennial job action and deadlocks.

Community Working Group on Health executive director Itai Rusike told NewsDay that skilled health professionals are opting to do care work outside the country simply because government is failing to pay health workers decent wages.

 

 

“One of the major challenges facing Zimbabwe’s public health care system is brain drain. Doctors, nurses and pharmacists have left and continue to leave the country to destinations like the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. In fact, Zimbabwean health professionals are now found in nearly all countries, including non-traditional destinations such as Dubai,” Rusike said.

“It is very unfortunate that senior, highly-qualified and experienced health professionals are now opting to do a Red-Cross short course on care work so that they can quickly get the work visa permit for the UK and leave the country with their spouses and children with very little chances of coming back any time soon.

“The country has failed to stabilise the brain drain for a number of decades, and recently some clinics in the capital city have closed for lack of staff. Health care workers continue to be trained but fail to fill in the posts established in the 1980s, let alone the posts and establishment required to deal with the current population, disease epidemiology and health and development targets.”

Public Service International sub-regional secretary for Southern Africa Tichaona Fambisa said: “This is a serious problem because what this means is that poor countries like Zimbabwe are subsidising the health systems of developed countries. Health professionals are trained in the country and after that they leave to serve other countries. Government should make sure that they invest more in public service so that public sector workers and health workers can earn decent salaries and fail to find reasons to migrate.”

 

 

Efforts to get a comment from Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare minister Paul Mavima were fruitless. But speaking to NewsDay last week; Mavima said government was in the process of increasing salaries for health workers to slow down the exodus.

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Fears over Health Service Act amendments

Credits: Newsday By Staff Reporter | Jan. 11, 2023

THERE are fears that the recently signed Health Service Amendment Act could trample on the rights of health workers.

Speaking to NewsDay, Community Working Group on Health executive director Itai Rusike  said the Act is neither democratic nor consultative.

 

 

He said public health sector workers are now disadvantaged in several ways because they have no right to strike and they cannot engage in collective bargaining.

“It is unfortunate that health workers are caught in the middle of a system that is slow to respond to their needs and ethical pressures not to take collective job action,” Rusike said.

“The unpopular Health Services Act will most likely exacerbate the exodus of health workers from the country thereby putting extra pressure on those who will remain on their jobs.”

 

 

He urged government to address the conditions of service for health workers to plug the brain drain.

While there are no exact statistics on the number of health professionals who left the country in 2021, the Zimbabwe Nurses Association put the figure at just over 2000.

Last year, government announced plans to ban doctors and nurses from embarking on job action lasting more than three days under new proposed amendments to the Health Services Act.

The Health Services Act was enacted in February 2005 to provide for the establishment of the Health Services Board (HSB) and the transfer of persons engaged in public health service delivery from the Public Service Commission to the HSB.

 

 

Under the Act,, worker representatives who face charges of inciting  nurses and doctors to unlawfully down tools could be jailed for three years in what authorities argue is necessary to ostensibly “instil discipline” in the health sector.