Save Our Hospitals Initiative Aims To Aid Zimbabwe’s Ailing Healthcare System

Soldiers and paramedics carry injured survivors from a helicopter in Chimanimani about 600 kilometres south east of Harare, Zimbabwe, Tuesday, March, 19, 2019. According to the government, Cyclone Idai has killed more than 100 people in Chipinge and Chimanimani and according to residents the figures could be higher because the hardest hit areas are still inaccesible. Some hundreds are dead, many more are missing, and some thousands at risk from the massive flooding in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe caused by Cyclone Idai.
Soldiers and paramedics carry injured survivors from a helicopter in Chimanimani about 600 kilometres south east of Harare, Zimbabwe, Tuesday, March, 19, 2019. According to the government, Cyclone Idai has killed more than 100 people in Chipinge and Chimanimani and according to residents the figures could be higher because the hardest hit areas are still inaccesible. Some hundreds are dead, many more are missing, and some thousands at risk from the massive flooding in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe caused by Cyclone Idai. Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi / AP Photo
Soldiers and paramedics carry injured survivors from a helicopter in Chimanimani about 600 kilometres south east of Harare, Zimbabwe, Tuesday, March, 19, 2019. According to the government, Cyclone Idai has killed more than 100 people in Chipinge and Chimanimani and according to residents the figures could be higher because the hardest hit areas are still inaccesible. Some hundreds are dead, many more are missing, and some thousands at risk from the massive flooding in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe caused by Cyclone Idai.
Soldiers and paramedics carry injured survivors from a helicopter in Chimanimani about 600 kilometres south east of Harare, Zimbabwe, Tuesday, March, 19, 2019. According to the government, Cyclone Idai has killed more than 100 people in Chipinge and Chimanimani and according to residents the figures could be higher because the hardest hit areas are still inaccesible. Some hundreds are dead, many more are missing, and some thousands at risk from the massive flooding in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe caused by Cyclone Idai. Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi / AP Photo

Save Our Hospitals Initiative Aims To Aid Zimbabwe’s Ailing Healthcare System

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Cyclone Idai hit parts of southern Africa last week, leaving devastation in its wake. Ninety-eight people have been confirmed dead in Zimbabwe with dozens more missing. The storm only added pressure to an already struggling healthcare sector in the country. With insufficient supplies, doctors have taken to washing and reusing bandages in recent weeks, and many drugs are unavailable. These issues are widely understood to stem from poor governance and a failing economy. Doctor Azza Mashumba, head of the pediatric department at the Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals in Zimbabwe, made an emotional plea last week in a video that has since gone viral. “Babies are dying,” she said. “There’s no urgency. There’s no priority. And nobody is listening to us.” Hopewell Chin’ono is a Zimbabwean journalist seeking to shore up Zimbabwe’s hospitals. He recently started the Save Our Hospitals initiative, bringing together high-profile Zimbabwean doctors and other experts to devise ways to get medical consumables to hospitals. Chin’ono joins us to discuss the state of healthcare in Zimbabwe and how he hopes to improve care for his fellow citizens.