Community Working Group on Health

Government is expected to appoint a board of directors for the National Aids Council (NAC) within the next month, Health and Child Care Minister Dr Obadiah Moyo has said.
The previous board was dissolved in March this year.
Once a new one has been appointed, it will then appoint a substantive chief executive to replace the long serving Dr Tapuwa Magure who left in December last year.
Responding to questions from stakeholders who felt the NAC board was taking long to be reconstituted, Dr Moyo said Government was following due procedure in the appointment of board members.
“We are working flat out to ensure that the board is well represented through following stipulated procedures,” he said.
“We anticipate that the board would be fully constituted for appointment within the next month.”
Since the departure of Dr Magure, NAC has so far seen two directors taking up the CEO role in acting capacities.
Pressure groups continue to advocate for the quick appointment of both the board and the CEO, arguing that lack of leadership at such levels impedes efficiency and effectiveness in resource allocation and usage.
The Community Working Group on Health (CWGH) is the latest organisation to call for a speedy reconstitution of the NAC board.
A number of other organisations, including those representing people living with HIV and Aids, petitioned Parliament earlier this month with the same concern.
CWGH executive director Mr Itai Rusike said NAC appeared to be failing to execute its mandate of late, as evidenced by a number of allegations, including misuse of public funds, maladministration, corruption and nepotism.
People on treatment are also reportedly battling to access enough drugs.
“The minister needs to urgently appoint board members and a substantive CEO for this organisation to make sure that it functions normally and makes important policy decisions that address the current burden of disease, integration of care and enable the country to attain developmental and universal health coverage goals,” said Mr   Rusike.
He said apart from reconstitution of the board, NAC must also provide a comprehensive review of its work, 20 years on.
Mr Rusike said the Aids Levy was a public purse, which must always be accounted for.
NAC is an organisation that came into being through an Act of Parliament in 1999 to coordinate and facilitate the national multi-sectoral response to HIV and Aids.

Paidamoyo Chipunza Senior Health Reporter

STAKEHOLDERS have scaled up calls on the Health minister Obadiah Moyo and Health Services Board (HSB) to urgently reconstitute the National Aids Council (NAC) board and appoint a substantive chief executive officer (CEO) to ensure smooth running of the organisation which has been dogged by allegations of maladministration, abuse of office and corruption.
The previous board was dissolved almost four months ago and at the time the Health minister in a letter said the board had been improperly appointed and that President Emmerson Mnangagwa had concurred to its dissolution.
However, no substantive appointments have been made, with Moyo recently saying they were following due process and that within a month, these appointments would have been made.
Agitated HIV activists are disgruntled and dissatisfied at the dragging process. The ZNNP+ Harare province advocacy chairperson Charles Kautare said the board was needed to make sound and coherent decisions. “The delay impacts negatively upon its service delivery mandates, bearing in mind that almost 100 000 people living with HIV and Aids are on second line treatment and are facing severe shortages of drugs,” he said.

Kautare also said given the prevailing situation, it would be difficult to meet the targeted 2030 mark of ending the devastating effects of the disease.
Community Working Group on Health (CWGH) director Itai Rusike also weighed in, saying the reconstitution of the board was critical since NAC, as an organisation, manages public funds (Aids Levy) and plays a pivotal role in the country’s HIV and Aids response. “The Honourable Minister needs to urgently appoint board members and a substantive chief executive officer for this organisation to make sure that NAC functions normally and makes important policy decisions that address the current burden of disease, integration of care and enable the country to attain developmental and Universal Health Coverage (UHC) goals,” he said.
Rusike said they felt strongly that the appointment of the CEO had taken too long considering the critical role that NAC plays in providing measures to combat the spread of HIV as well as management, co-ordination and implementation programmes that reduce the impact of HIV and Aids in the country.
“We disapprove the current ad-hoc and reactive appointments being done at NAC, an important organisation that holds keys to millions of lives that cannot do without its services,” he said.
“This points to serious management and governance shortcomings, and we strongly feel this runs contrary to the new dispensation’s thrust of health for development. We cannot allow such an important institution to operate on auto-pilot.”
The CWGH also made an urgent appeal for the reconstitution of other strategic and key governance institutions such as the Public Health Advisory Board, the National Cancer Forum and in addition set up a forum that looks at UHC.

©newsday - July 23, 2019  PHYLLIS MBANJE

ZIMBABWE should draw serious lessons from other countries who have successfully implemented national health insurance schemes that cater comprehensively for every citizen to ensure the attainment of universal health coverage (UHC), stakeholders have said.
High cost of medicines compounded by persistent industrial action by health workers has made it virtually impossible for ordinary citizens to access basic health care.
The call came as most health insurance providers have indicated that they will, from July 1, hike their fees by between 40% and 80% to cushion their businesses against inflation.
“In the absence of a national safety net coupled with the current prohibitive cost of health care services, it is imperative that Zimbabwe sets up a UHC, where
all people receive quality and essential health services when they need them including services designed to promote better health, prevent illness, and to provide treatment, rehabilitation and palliative care of sufficient quality, while at the same time ensuring that the use of these services does not expose the user to financial hardship,” Community Working Group on Health executive director Itai Rusike said.
Last month, Health minister Obadiah Moyo told the Parliamentary Thematic Committee on HIV and Aids that government was in the process of crafting a National Health Insurance Bill.
“This law will also control medical aid societies so that they do not just do what they want, so this Bill will ensure that they do not become service
providers,” Moyo said.
The health policy, which is expected to be operational by January next year, has been on the drawing board for the past 15 years.
The cost of health care in Zimbabwe remains one of the highest in the region and over the years, has denied many people access to quality medical care.
Most private health institutions are now demanding payment in hard currency or the parallel market equivalent in bond notes or RTGS dollar payments.
Meanwhile, medical aid providers have also been challenged to come up with schemes for the lower income bracket as many low-income earners are battling with
shortfalls and co-payments, which can be prohibitive given the current economic situation.

June 22, 2019 By Phyllis Mbanje

THE Community Working Group on Health (CWGH) has implored Government to prioritise the capacitation of pharmaceutical companies to ease obtaining shortages of drugs in the country.
Speaking to The Herald, CWGH executive director Mr Itai Rusike said while Government policies on drugs were very robust, there was an urgent need for it to avail foreign currency to capacitate local drug manufacturers.
“CWGH appreciates Government policies on essential drugs and equity in health which have over the years widened access to treatment,” he said.
“However, it is evidently clear that hospitals and clinics are facing critical shortage of drugs. It is our view that Government needs to inject foreign currency into local pharmaceutical companies which include; Caps, Datlabs and Varichem, among others to enhance their drug production capacity.
“At the same time we are saying there is need for a deliberate intervention to control drug prices, which continue sky-rocketing and are currently burdening consumers countrywide.
“For instance as an organisation, we have been monitoring issues to do with leakages, thefts, improper use of drugs in the health sector and submitting reports to Government for further action.”
Mr Rusike said his organisation was rolling out a number of community health literacy programmes on the use of drugs.
He encouraged Government to promote whistle-blowing in the health sector to curb artificial shortages of drugs in health institutions.
“Further, it is also our humble view that essential drugs must be ranked with energy and fuel as priority claimants of foreign currency,” said Mr Rusike.

Masvingo Correspondent

Byron Adonis MutingwendeMay 04, 2019, 05:20 am
The Community Working Group on Health (CWGH) in partnership with Medico International has procured some materials for relief and aid to affected communities in Chimanimani.
Speaking while handing over the substantive donation of items worth US$50 000 to the organisation’s management committee in Harare on 3 May 2019, Itai Rusike, the Executive Director of CWGH, said the gesture was in line with their mandate since their institution is deeply rooted in the community.
“As CWGH, we are a network of national, civil society and community participation in Zimbabwe. The organisation is deeply rooted in the community and thus awarding the community the opportunity to be visible and engage in public health sector processes in Zimbabwe,” Rusike said.
The Chairperson of CWGH, Delphine Chirimuuta, said her organisation embarked on the partnership with Medico International so as to play its part in improving the welfare of the survivors of Cyclone Idai in Chipinge and Chimanimani whose livelihoods were shattered following the disaster.
The items to be distributed to the affected areas include food, kitchenware and toiletries.
Kitchenware will go a long way to ensuring that mothers are able to prepare decent meals for their families, particularly children.
Mr. Rusike said CWGH works with community health workers hence the need to support them with food since they have volunteered to assist in the affected areas.
“For the prevention of diseases, we will provide mosquito nets, hand wash and water guard. A target of 100 households in the affected areas of Chimanimani district, will receive these items, focusing mainly on vulnerable members of society such as women and orphans. The CWGH Chimanimani chapter will play a role in the distribution which is going to be done in partnership with the Manicaland Provincial Administration and Civil Protection Unite and the Ministry of Health and Child Care in order to give priority to the needy,” Mr Rusike said.
To guard against looting of the items and distribution of the donation on partisan lines, Mr. Rusike dedicated his time to be on the ground himself.
Each of the identified 100 households will get a carton of Mazoe Orang Crush drink, carton of sugar beans, carton of kapenta fish, carton of soya means, carton of cooking oil, carton of sugar and carton of salt.
They will also receive toiletries including bathing and washing soap, sanitary pads, petroleum jelly, hand towels, hand washing liquids, toothpaste and toothbrushes.
Each of the households will receive 20 litre buckets to fetch and store water, a set of plates, cups and pots, serving and cooking spoons, steel knives, table and tea spoons, as well as three mosquito nets per household and three solar lamps per household.

HEALTH minister Obadiah Moyo on Thursday assured Senate that his ministry was prepared to avert any health calamities that may face Cyclone Idai victims, adding that his ministry will soon float a real time gross settlement dollar (RTGS) tender for supply of medicines to assist the affected communities.
“We have been allocated money by the Finance ministry to be able to purchase medicines and have had many well-wishers who have donated medicines which have been shipped to disaster areas,” Moyo said without specifying how much he was allocated by the Finance ministry.
When Cyclone Idai hit Manicaland and other parts of the country, Finance minister Mthuli Ncube allocated $50 million to fund relief efforts.
“We have medical kits available that contain all medicines including aqua tablets for water treatment because we do not want to end up with epidemics, and we have floated a tender for medicines and this is a tender which is going to be awarded on a RTGS$ basis because there are companies in Zimbabwe that can ensure we get more medicines in disaster-hit areas,” he said.
Moyo said the health concerns from Cyclone Idai-hit areas were those of children that had been affected by parasites.
“Immediately we sent de-worming medicines and we have been making all necessary arrangements so that we do not have another catastrophe in the affected areas,” he said.
Calling for more volunteer counsellors to help people who have been traumatised, the minister also said: “On the issue of dead bodies, it is now easier with the team of sniffer dogs from South Africa. Most of the bodies will be decomposed and will be difficult to identify. There will be need for deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing and there are two teams of scientists from the National University of Science and Technology and our pathology department to assist in identifying the bodies.”
Community Working Group on Health executive director Itai Rusike said there was also need for mosquito spraying in the cyclone-hit areas to avert malaria, in addition to dealing with waterborne diseases.
Rusike said people with chronic diseases and conditions such as diabetes, cancer, asthma, and HIV and Aids will also need urgent support so that they do not miss their treatment and risk developing complications.
“Such groups have difficulty taking medication when they do not have adequate food to eat. While much attention is focused on the devastating impact of the cyclone, there is also need to distribute items such as bed nets and resources for spraying to prevent malaria outbreak in the affected areas,” Rusike said.

newsday - April 1, 2019 BY VENERANDA LANGA