Zimbabwe Covid 19 -
Responses and Challenges
By Dumisani O . Nkomo
Since the World Health Organization declared that Covid -19
was a global health emergency Zimbabwe has since officially reported at least 7
cases and one fatality. The Zimbabwean government then responded by putting in place a raft of
measures to deal with the pandemic. I would like to suggest that over and
beyond the Coronavirus pandemic threat ,there is need for a more comprehensive outlook
to pandemics and other public health emergencies or disasters .I will attempt
to first of all outline what the government and none state actors have done,
then highlight critical gaps which include provision of service delivery ,
institutional capacity , a competent public health system , enabling laws and
policies which are critical in dealing
with pandemics such as Covid -1
Although the government appeared relaxed and undecided in
its initial response it eventually did eventually respond to the Covid -19 pandemic with a number of measures .Already in
existence in terms of response to disasters is the Civil Protection Act which
forms a critical component of Zimbabwe’s disaster response mechanisms and legislative infrastructure
. In addition to this the government of
Zimbabwe through the Ministry of Health
crafted the Zimbabwe Preparedness and
Response Plan which outlined how government , line ministries and key
institutions would respond to the COVID 19 Pandemic . Further to this the
government of Zimbabwe speedily formulated a swathe of Statutory Instruments as
is the norm to respond to the increasing threat of the pandemic in the face of accusations
of inaction, inertia and indecisiveness from the public through civil society
groupings and media . These public health measures in response included the following which were cited as
Covid 19 –Prevention ,Containment and Treatment Measures :
1.Staturory Instrument 77 of 2020
2.Statutory Instrument 82 of 2020
3. Statutory Instrument 83 of 2020 [ National Lockdown Order
]
Further to this the government also crafted measures for
frontline workers involved in fight against COVID 19 in the form of the
Personal Protective Equipment Policy
Covid 19 .
All these raft of measures are indeed applaudible and indicative
of the government’s desire to deal with
the pandemic albeit belatedly
The pandemic has however brought a number of longstanding structural issues to the fore
which erode or undermine the government’s ability , capacity and indeed the
capability of the country to deal with any major pandemic or any other public
health emergency or national disaster .
Service Delivery
Service delivery is key in ensuring the prevention , management
and eradication of pandemics .Zimbabwe has a debilitating incapacity to deliver
services whether through central government or local authorities or indeed
through statutory service providers such as the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply
Authority .
Provision of clean water is and has been a challenge in most
parts of Zimbabwe manifesting itself in the current context of the Coronavirus
threat . Whilst government has been pontificating about the imperative of washing
hands with soap in order to prevent the spread of Corona virus many towns
including Bulawayo and parts of Harare where experiencing serious water shortages.
Places such as Maphisa ,Matabeleland South
have been experiencing water shortages for a while .The non-availability of
clean water is itself a health disaster and emergency that must be attended to
as a matter of the first capital magnitude .Whilst the Bulawayo City Council
has said the shortage of water is due to ongoing rehabilitation of waterworks ,the city of Bulawayo has been facing a water
crisis for over 25 years with government doing little if anything to address
this water crisis . Surely after 25 years an issue does not qualify to be a crisis
but becomes a condition. The capital city Harare has also had its fair share of
water shortages which may be attributed to poor water governance and corruption
as most of the Cities supply dams are full .
The shortage of water makes the country vulnerable to
various public health disasters such as
the Cholera epidemic that affected Harare and other parts of the country .Water
shedding has resulted in people in high density areas having to queue for water thus making them vulnerable to
contracting coronavirus because social distancing is not adhered to in queues
which are matters of survival .
Erratic electricity supply and load shedding erode the country’s
capacity to cope with the Coronavirus as one of the suggested coping mechanisms
has been working remotely or working from home . This is impossible in a
situation where there is no electricity and no wi fi connectivity . Effective
sewer reticulation and waste management are also key service delivery pillars
which if unattended could lead to other public health emergencies
Social Security and Social Safety
Nets
Over 80% of the populace is
employed by the informal sector and up to 90 %dependant on the informal sector
for goods and services . Zimbabwe also has a large population of widows , orphans and vulnerable
children as well as retrenches and pensioners
.Zimbabwe still has very poor safety
nets to protect the most vulnerable members of society . Though government has
announced measures for cash transfers for the poor this is hardly enough for
the poor who need a more robust social safety nets . One can Imagine what happens to a poor
family during 21 days of lockdown in terms of access to food and basic commodities.
The poor cannot afford to stock
food for 21 days [ the duration of the lockdown ]and indeed the average
Zimbabwean civil servant can also be classified as poor and incapable of
stocking food over 21 days or surviving 21 days of lack of alternative economic
activity.
In the long term the country need
a strong social security system that protects pensioners , youths and children
from the effects of shutdowns , lockdowns or any major pandemic or disaster .
Currently the fiscus is unable to
provide the kind of support that economies such as the United States are
providing not only for the poor but for distressed industries . The U.S
Government recently announced a 2 trillion dollar package to fight against the
coronavirus . This is equivalent to a combined total of 200 years worth of
Zimbabwe national budgets .
Food
The shortage of basic commodities
such as mealie meal have accentuated a.. tnd accelerated the problem of long
queues which are fertile ground for the spread of the Coronavirus . Faced with
the possibility of hunger Zimbabweans have been forced to join long queues in
order to secure food especially mealie meal . The availability and provision of
food is essential in lockdown contexts as failure to ensure availability of
affordable basic commodities can militate against measures to contain the
pandemic and indeed other public health emergencies and or national disasters .
Strong Institutions
The existence of strong
institutions is key in fighting and managing any national disaster or crisis
such as Covid 19 .Such institutions include
government departments , security forces , local authorities , the media
and non state actors . Our institutions a s a country still need a lot of capacity
as even in the absence of such pandemics and emergencies most government
departments operate at deficient levels .The Civil Protection Unit is one such institution which needs to be
strengthened . It cannot however be strong if the structures and departments
that feed into it are inherently incapacitated .
Sound Public Health System
A sound public health system is a
prerequisite to an effective response to bio medical emergencies such as Covic
19 . A sound public health system I must include well equipped public health
systems , well remunerated healthcare workers and responsive
systems .The country’s health care systems problems are well documented
and are a subject of other articles .
There is an urgent need to overhaul the country’s public health system which
would require sustained budgetary budget support from the fiscus as well as
multi lateral institutions.
Information Dissemination Infrastructure
Although the government recently
announced measures to liberalize the media by granting licences for community radio
,this has been generally too little too late . By this time the country should
be having at three community radio stations in each province . Community radio
is key in the fight against pandemics such as Covod 19 .The governments
obsession with controlling the airwaves has cost the country in terms of
responsiveness to the coronavirus as information would have speedily been
disseminated to affected remote communities .
Pro Active Policy / Legal
Framework
Instead of relying on the
promulgation of statutory instruments there is need for beefing up of the Civil
Protection Act and formulation of a new omnibus law to deal with public health
emergencies and natural disasters. The country needs an aggressive enabling policy
framework so that future responses build on a strong policy infrastructure and legislative
superstructure
Leadership
The question of leadership an governance
is key in the ability of any country to respond to disasters. This is why Winston
Churchill made a great wartime leader as he was able to rally the whole nation
to fight against Nazi Hittler .Decisive and effective leadership is key in the
fight against this global pandemic . The world is crying for caring , servant
leaders who provide vision , hope and direction in times like these . As
Zimbabwe we need such leadership at national and local level because crises
tend to expose leadership deficiencies and capacities
Together we can fight and win
against Covid 19 .This requires leaders from different political parties ,
religious , civic and business leaders to lend a hand and a voice is this great
battle
Mayibuye
Dumisani O Nkomo is the Chief
Executive Officer of Habakkuk Trust , he is also an author , opinion leader and
content producer
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