InfocusNews 01-05 November 2021
Free TB screening welcomed by residents from Ngozi Mine
I
n the first week of November, the Ministry of Health and Child Care, in collaboration with Bulawayo City Council rolled out free screening Tuberculosis services around the city, a development which residents say will cover healthcare gaps left by Covid-19. Targeted risk groups included healthcare workers; people living with HIV, diabetic patients, miners and ex-miners (formal or artisanal and small scale), ex-prisoners, prisoners and prison workers. The list also included malnourished children, those who have lived with or worked with someone who has TB, elderly people above the age of 65.
Each day, close to 28 000 people fall ill to TB and nearly 4 000 people lose their lives to this preventable and curable disease. While TB treatment and care is free in Zimbabwe, over 80 percent of those in need of TB services face catastrophic costs in trying to access the services. These costs include transport costs and food among others as TB is regarded as the disease for the poor. In an interview, Samukeliso Ncube from Ngozi Mine in Richmond said the free TB screening services will help meet growing demand for healthcare as the community remains sidelined in Bulawayo.
Council had a mobile TB screening lab going round Cowdray Park, Killarney, Ngozi Mine, Mzilikazi, Pumula, Magwegwe to offer TB testing and treatment.
She said that more than 500 people in the community rely on Emakhandeni clinic situated more than 5km away for healthcare services which can only be accessed once monthly.
TB remains one of the biggest killer diseases in Zimbabwe, especially among people living with HIV.
“We are happy that we have been considered for the free TB screening services as we live in isolation
facebook.com/wildtrustzim |
@wildtrustzim |
www.womenforleadership.org
without access to such services. Many of us lead risky lives because we are forced to go through waste pits daily in search of food and recyclable items so that we earn a living,” said Ncube. “We are overcrowded and definitely at risk of developing TB and all these other diseases hence we are grateful to the Ministry and council. I think they should be rolling out other services in the same manner as we do not have a clinic but we are suffering from many challenges that put our health at risk.” Precious Sibanda from Cowdray Park said the community has no access to a nearby clinic which affects healthcare seeking behavior and often leads to complications and compromised quality of life. “Our area keeps growing and so is the need for healthcare services but it is good to see council doing these mobile programs in case we have hundreds who are living with TB without knowing. The turn up was good because we do not have a clinic nearby and we had to take advantage of the visiting teams to screen for TB,” said Sibanda. “I think the council should consider rolling this out once a month so that we have frequent screenings even for other conditions like Covid-19, cancer, and sexually transmitted infections,” she said. Sibanda also highlighted that most
InfocusNews of the people that live in Ngozi Mine cannot easily access clinics and hospitals hence the need for
such screenings which the council is rolling out in affected areas.
“This move will lessen our children’s chances of contracting COVID-19 and also protect them from developing severe disease as schools are still open. We would like to applaud the Ministry for taking this step as seen in other developed countries,” said Ntini. Marjorie Sibanda from Lupane said the move will also help parents get vaccinated seeing that authorities have recommended the vaccines for a younger age group.
COVID-19 jab for high school learners expected to reduce outbreaks in schools
R
esidents have applauded the Ministry of Health and Child Care for its decision to roll out Covid-19 vaccines for learners aged 16-17 saying the move will lessen perennial outbreaks being recorded in schools.
schools, colleges and universities and vaccination centres are hereby required to commence the vaccination program of their age group with immediate effect. For the avoidance of doubt the vaccine type eligible for this age group is the Sinovac vaccine,” he said.
When Zimbabwe first rolled out Covid-19 vaccines, only adults aged above 18 were eligible pending further research to ascertain safety in younger members of the public.
As at November, 3 2021, Zimbabwe had 133 091 confirmed cases, including 127 829 recoveries and 4 684 deaths. To date, a total of 3 336 079 people have received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine while 2 618 101 had received their second dose.
Recently, Vice President Constatino Chiwenga, who is also the health minister, said the vaccination of the 16-17 year age group had been approved. “All the province’s secondary
In an interview Sinqobile Ntini From Montrose said vaccinating learners would lessen Covid- 19 cases that are currently being recorded in schools.
facebook.com/wildtrustzim |
www.womenforleadership.org
@wildtrustzim |
“Since the vaccines were ruled out, there have been debates about their safety and we had people who claimed these vaccines were dangerous. Now that learners are being inoculated, I know that some parents will join them so that we can reach herd immunity soon,” she said. “Our children will be in school until December especially the exam classes, and vaccines are going to reduce the risk of COVID-19 because a lot of learners have suffered from this virus. We hope that as communities we will rally behind the Government and ensure that eligible children are vaccinated.” For Ntokozo Moyo who lives in Beitbridge, the outbreak at the border town left many parents worried about the safety of their children attending school. “We are still worried something worse may come but we are relieved to know that some of our children can now access the vaccine. This is good news and we are confident that this roll out will
InfocusNews improve the situation. We cannot lobby for schools to close every time we have an outbreak so it is good to know we have one more
solution to address the spread of COVID-19 in Zimbabwe.” The country is aiming at vaccinat-
ing at least 10 million residents by the end of 2021 to achieve herd immunity.
Desks, phones, computer keyboards and computer mice are key germ transfer points because people touch them so often. Remember to keep a hand sanitizer where it is easily accessible and always within sight. facebook.com/wildtrustzim |
@wildtrustzim |
www.womenforleadership.org
Community Voices
R
esidents in Pumula South have expressed concern over the delay in the delivery of water bowsers during funerals stating that when they request for the service, the city fathers respond late and at times they deliver the water well after the funeral has passed.
By Enia Dube Residents state that this has been the prevailing situation for a long time and it is not affecting Pumula South only but other residential areas as well. This calls for members of the pub-
lic to report and request boswer assistance as early as possible to allow for smooth service delivery. The Bulawayo City Council (BCC) should also find ways of improving this service so that residents do not have challenges.
Siphathisiwe Mlotshwa has highlighted that the district has been undergoing an intense vaccination drive and expects to reach head immunity. “As far as vaccinations are concerned, Umzingwane District has vaccinated about 18000 people which is 46% of the targeted 40000 people.
Umzingwane District targets achieving herd immunity by end of November
T
he COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way citizens live. Masks have become part of our lifestyle and as at 3 November 2021, Zimbabwe had 133 091 confirmed cases, including 127 829 recoveries and 4 684 deaths. So far, reports
facebook.com/wildtrustzim |
indicate that a total of 3 336 079 people have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine while 2 618 101 have received their second dose. In Umzingwane, the Assistant District Development Co-Ordinator
@wildtrustzim |
www.womenforleadership.org
Meanwhile the Government is providing vaccines and other consumables whilst we have to source the rest for ourselves. We also have been asked to reach the target for herd immunity by November 30 2021,” she said. Mlotshwa has also highlighted that to meet the expected targets, the District is working on sending three teams to enable nursing staff to go and camp so as to reach as many people as possible in remote areas.
Electoral Information Blitz
As part of efforts to raise awareness on voter registration, Ward Co-ordinator for Ward 26 Perservance Nyathi mobilised women to enable them to gain knowledge on their right to vote. Some of the women who attended the event highlighted that they would like to register to vote. As a follow up to this meeting, at least 15 women will be assisted with transport so as to enable them to register to vote.
Address GBV to improve women’s participation in electoral processes - Women
I
n this month of November as the world readies to commemorate the 16 days of Activism against Gender Based Violence, women from Emganwini area met to discuss the different forms of Gender Based Violence (GBV) and how GBV affects women’s participation in electoral processes.
she said. During the meeting women staged plays to demonstrate the impact of GBV on women and to also share the available response services that the community should rely on.
“As a community, we can gather ourselves and WILD will assist by taking us to the voter registration site,” said Nyathi. Women welcomed this initiative and cited that it will encourage youths to participate in electoral processes. They also highlighted that government needs to improve access to documentation for those without National Identity cards so as to improve the voter registration process and make it accessible to everyone who is eligible to vote.
In an interview after the meeting, one of the women Nyaradzo Mudangandi, she highlighted that GBV often limits women’s active participation in public processes as it reduces their confidence. “GBV is not good and women should not be silent. Women who are abused are often not able to participate and as a community we need to act against GBV by reporting such incidences to the police,” facebook.com/wildtrustzim |
@wildtrustzim |
Click on the picture to watch www.womenforleadership.org
Electoral Information Blitz and viewing of the voters roll will be conducted online to avoid gatherings. This is in line with Covid-19 containment measures which prompted the electoral body to craft a policy that will be used in conducting all activities related to elections including voter registration. According to the policy, all activities will be held under strict adherence to Covid-19 regulations which include masking up, washing hands and social distancing. In a statement ZEC said while the Commission had to take the necessary steps to suspend all electoral activities during the national lockdown it did not lose sight of the need to find ways of ensuring that the constitutional right to elections is not curtailed indefinitely.
Click on the picture to watch Documentation for nomination of candidates to be done online
T facebook.com/wildtrustzim |
@wildtrustzim |
he Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has said documentation for nomination of candidates
www.womenforleadership.org
“To this end the Commission has come up with a draft of measures which are intended to ensure that the suspension on the conduct of electoral activities is lifted and ensure that it carries out its Constitutional mandate in terms of Section 239 whilst also meeting the requirements put in place by authorities as precautions against the contraction and spread of the corona virus. The Commission further ascertained other electoral activities that do not involve direct engagement with the public. In this regard the filling-in of the Proportional Representation vacancies that occur in Parliament is relevant and necessary,” said ZEC. Residents welcomed the move tak-
Electoral Information Blitz en by ZEC to craft the policy adding that the document should be utilized to make way for pending by-elections and other related issues which have been suspended due to Covid-19. They argued that the neighbouring South Africa and Zambia managed to hold elections during the pandemic which should stand as an example. Tracey Maseko told Infocus ZEC was no longer justified to keep suspending by elections and delaying to ensure that a majority of members of the public register to vote
before the delimitation process. “I think it’s now clear that elections can be held no matter what the circumstances as witnessed by what happened in South Africa over the past few days. Therefore ZEC can longer hide behind Covid but must implement its electoral activities policy and ensure that by elections are held as a matter of urgency while ensuring that the ongoing voter registration is decentralised,” said Maseko. “ZEC no longer has reason to keep suspending by elections and we all
know that Covid cases and deaths have decreased so much making it conducive for these constitutional activities to be held.” Another resident Argatha Ncube said schools and churches had been opened following lifting of the national lockdown which is proof enough that the country has the capacity to hold by elections. “We have gone for far too long without a legislator and this is the time for ZEC to push for these by elections to be held as everything seems to be in place.”
“We are responsible for the growth of our country...”
Click on the picture to watch facebook.com/wildtrustzim |
@wildtrustzim |
www.womenforleadership.org
Electoral Information Blitz and rural communities. “ZEC is anticipating to expand registration centres from the current number of 73 and availing 900 BVR kits nationally in 2022. We hope that this exercise will decentralise the registration points such that they are accessible to people who would like to register to vote,” said Ncube.
CSOs concerned over absence of online voter registration
C
ivil Society Organisations have expressed concern over the absence of an online voter registration system by Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) despite the high internet and mobile penetration rate in the country as projected by the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ). The concerns emerged from a Stakeholders Engagement meeting organised by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) with the aim to apprise Bulawayo based Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and Faith Based Organisations (FBOs) of the Commission’s upcoming electoral activities such as voter registration and pre-delimitation activities Speaking at the Stakeholders Engagement Meeting, ZEC’s Provincial Officer Innocent Ncube said ZEC does not have an online registration system and people facebook.com/wildtrustzim |
must present themselves before a Registration Officer for them to register to vote. “ZEC does not have an online registration system. If one wants to vote they have to present themselves before a Registration Officer at our offices. We are doing this in accordance with the Electoral Act and the Constitution which is the supreme law of the land.” said Ncube. Ncube’s utterances were met with mixed views from CSOs in attendance against the backdrop of ZEC having limited voter registration points nationally making it difficult for people to access them hence the idea of having an online portal for people to register to vote. On decentralisation of voter registration points Ncube said ZEC is in the process of decentralising its registration points to ensure that they are accessible to diverse urban
@wildtrustzim |
www.womenforleadership.org
To date Matabeleland Region is still lagging behind the expected target of 400 000 registered voters meaning it risks losing more than 6 seats ahead of the delimitation exercise to be conducted in August 2022. Notably most Wards in Bulawayo are struggling to meet the 21 000 number of registered voters which marks the threshold for a Constituency. With elections to be held within a year and six months, a significant percentage of Zimbabweans particularly potential youth voters are having a torrid time in accessing documentation to help them to register to vote. However, Ncube noted that it is not ZEC’s mandate to issue out IDs and explained that any documentation related matters should be directed to the Registrar’s Office. In Gwanda during another stakeholder meeting, ZEC applauded its stakeholders for a job well done in voter education and encouraged citizens to register to vote citing that citizens play a pivotal role in the outcome of the voting process. Stakeholders in attendance recom-
Electoral Information Blitz mended that there is need to design and develop voter education
facebook.com/wildtrustzim |
programs that will inform and educate citizen of electoral processes
@wildtrustzim |
www.womenforleadership.org
in Zimbabwe and the importance of registering to vote.
Electoral Information Blitz
facebook.com/wildtrustzim |
@wildtrustzim |
www.womenforleadership.org
InfocusNews
VOTERS’ ROLL LINK facebook.com/wildtrustzim |
@wildtrustzim |
www.womenforleadership.org