Tag: #CWGH

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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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Brief Post Budget Analysis 2023 CWGH

 

The 2023 Health Budget allocation of only 11% has remained largely uninspiring given that it has not addressed the critical issues that we raised in our Pre-Budget position paper. It falls far short of the Abuja Declaration Target of 15%.

Unfortunately the health budget remains grossly inadequate to address the critical needs in the health sector such as the current exodus of health workers, drug shortages, inadequate ambulances, and obsolete equipment.

The inadequate public financing of the health sector has resulted in an overreliance on out-of-pocket and external financing which is highly unsustainable.

We hope that the funds allocated will be timeously and fully disbursed to the health sector and that the Ministry of Health will also utilize the funds effectively and in a transparent manner.

I hope this will assist

Itai Rusike, Executive Director, Community Working Group on Health (CWGH)

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Schools May Become Hotspots For Measles – Health Expert

Health experts have expressed that schools may be superspreaders of measles, with the disease spreading rapidly countrywide since it was detected in Mutasa District on 10 April this year.

As of 6 September 2022, the Ministry of Health and Childcare had recorded 6 551 cumulative cases, including 4 633 recoveries and 704 deaths across the country.

Zimbabwe Nurses Association (ZINA) president Enock Dongo told NewsDay that there is a high chance of measles spreading like a wildfire in schools. He said:

There is no guarantee for safety, especially in rural areas and other children where they are crowded.

What it means is that the chances of them spreading to each other are very high, especially considering how virulent it is.

So we have no guarantee that this is not going to spread. People should be vaccinated to avoid the chances of hospitalisation and death.

Community Working Group on Health executive director Itai Rusike said:

We want to continue encouraging parents and guardians to have all children vaccinated against measles in order to avoid schools becoming the epicentre or hotspot for measles.

Westview Clinics boss, Dr Johannes Marisa, said the government should educate people on the importance of being vaccinated against the disease. He said:

We are worried that schools have opened while the situation is like this where measles is spreading like veld fire.

So at this juncture, we should fight vaccine hesitancy by removing all myths around measles.

Disinformation and misinformation surrounding issues of measles are contributing to the law uptake of the vaccines.

Recently, the World Health Organisation (WHO) noted that measles had been progressing quickly and the case fatality was relatively higher when compared to other recent outbreaks.

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Measles outbreak looms in schools

THE reopening of schools amid a major measles outbreak countrywide might expose learners who are not vaccinated as Zimbabwe battles to control the disease, health experts have warned.

Statistics from the Health and Child Care ministry show that 153 new cases were recorded on Tuesday while fatalities climbed to 698 from 685.

Cumulative and active cases are now at 6 444 and 4 580, respectively.

Zimbabwe Nurses Association president Enock Dongo expressed fear that schools might be super-spreaders of the medieval disease if pupils are not vaccinated.

“There is no guarantee for safety especially in rural areas and other children where they are crowded. What it means is that the chances of them spreading to each other are very high, especially considering how virulent it is,” Dongo said.

“So we have no guarantee that this is not going to spread. People should be vaccinated to avoid chances of hospitalization and death.”

Community Working Group on Health executive director Itai Rusike said government should strengthen community surveillance and awareness.

“We want to continue encouraging parents and guardians to have all children vaccinated against measles in order to avoid schools becoming the epicenter or hotspot for measles,” Rusike said.

 

Another health expert, Johannes Marisa said the government should educate people so that they can make informed decisions because most people are skeptical about vaccines.

“We are worried that schools have opened while the situation is like this where measles is spreading like veldfire. So at this juncture we should fight vaccine hesitancy by removing all myths around measles.  Disinformation and misinformation surrounding issues of measles is contributing to the law uptake of the vaccines,” Marisa said.

Zimbabwe Senior Hospital Doctors Association president Shingai Nyaguse-Chiurunge concurred saying gathering of unvaccinated people, especially in the apostolic sects is a cause for concern.

The outbreak started in April in Manicaland and has since spread across the country.

More than 50% of the registered cases had not been vaccinated.

The World Health Organization warned in April about the increase in measles cases in vulnerable countries as a result of a disruption of services due to COVID-19.