CWGH Training Gender Justice Champions in Matabeleland region
CWGH training Gender Justice Champions responsible for raising information levels on GBV, working with community structures such as Village Health Workers, Child Protection Committees (CPCs), the local leadership and Social Welfare Focal persons in Bubi district, Matabeleland North Province. The champions also report cases of GBV and offer support to survivors of abuse.
Honourable Minister of Health and Child Care Dr Douglas Mombeshora and Secretary of Health and Dr Aspect Maunganidze with the CWGH Executive Director Mr Itai Rusike at the meeting with Development Partners
Concerns over amendments to the Health Services Act.
Credit : Newsday
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 workers in the public health sector are now disadvantaged in several ways, since now they cannot strike and bargain collectively.
“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.
NEW: Govt accelerates the extension of health services
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)
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.
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.
Zim winning measles fight
Experts push for mandatory measles vaccination