The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

Zimbabwe horror it is heartbreaking. Patients in Zimbabwe are sleeping rough on the floor in major hospitals. Zimbabwe’s health system is at risk of being overwhelmed as a renewed surge in coronavirus infections has caused a shortage of beds and equipment at hospitals.

The hospitals and healthcare systems in Zimbabwe are highly under-resourced, yet the nurses are currently on strike and there is an acute shortage of doctors because of small wages. It is disheartening to hear that Health officials confirmed 34 deaths, 1, 365 infections bringing figures to 418 fatalities, 17,194 infections per day. A small increase in cases puts pressure, citing that private hospitals are also overwhelmed with limited capacity, with those facilities requiring bookings and upfront payments of $2,500 to $5,000, which the poor and weak cannot manage to afford. When hospitals are overwhelmed and overflowing, ZANU-PF government is no longer able to provide the traditional standards of care in Zimbabwe.

Heartless president Emerson Mnangagwa has failed to ensure that patients continue to receive appropriate medical services by better distributing available resources across the country to prevent overwhelming specific hospitals, counties and regions. President Mnangagwa should be challenged by international leaders to improve management of hospitals.

KUDZAI CHIKOWORE

London, England

January 7, 2021.