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Doctors urge government to address disease outbreak by improving service delivery
By Tererai Karimakwenda
06 February 2006
The lack of adequate service delivery by government is contributing to the outbreak of disease and continues to pose a health threat in Zimbabwe. This is according to a doctors’ organisation that is deeply concerned with the issue, particularly the continued outbreak of cholera. In a statement issued on Friday, The Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) described the unhealthy environment that has resulted from a lack of basic services and urged government to address the problem. The statement said: “It is essential that there be a more coherent central Government strategy to ensure that Zimbabweans are accorded the “best attainable state of physical and mental health”.
Speaking for the Association, Primrose Matambanadzo told us the major problem was the lack of adequate clean running water, piles of uncollected refuse and open sewage. She said this is contributing to the spread of diseases like cholera and dysentery countrywide. Late last year the illegal commission running Harare shut down Mbare Musika market claiming they were taking steps to address the outbreak of disease. No other long-term solutions have been proposed or put into effect anywhere in the country. Vendors were relocated to make-shift “satellite markets” without running water and toilets in Belvedere, Dzivarasekwa, Mabvuku, Highfield and Hatcliffe. The ZADHR statement said: “This raises the potential for further outbreak of disease rather than addressing the problem.” Matambanadzo said it is a mistake to focus the problem on this one location, adding that even low density areas that were once unaffected need to address these issues. This shows the extent of the problem. The doctors have written to government officials expressing their concerns but have not received any response. Matambanadzo said they have not been consulted either. The ZADHR statement said: “We urge the Ministry of Health and municipal authorities to desist from implementing uncoordinated ad hoc measures that may have long-term negative effects. Stakeholders must be consulted and adequate planning be undertaken before further measures are taken to address the problem. Such measures should be part of a sound national policy that meets minimum standards for health.
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