Zimbabwe Democracy Institute (ZDI), a public policy think-tank has accused the government of neglecting rural health care facilities as Covid-19 has made the situation even worse.
According to the Zimbabwe Democracy Institute (ZDI) Access To Public Health Monitoring report, access to healthcare in rural areas continues to be very problematic with the Covid-19 pandemic worsening the situation.
“A research by Mangundu et al (2020) revealed that accessibility of healthcare in rural areas is globally impeded by physical, material, human, financial, and managerial resources and societal barriers in the healthcare system and Zimbabwe is significantly affected,” said ZDI.
According to the report, the suspension of doctors’ clinic visits has made it very difficult for the rural folk to access health care services.
“The outbreak of Covid-19 in Zimbabwe led the government to channel resources such as the medical personnel and vehicles towards fighting the pandemic. This means the government has neglected other health emergencies and placed its focus on Covid-19 and thereby leaving people exposed to other infections. The citizens now bear the burden of walking and traveling long distances to get access to health care facilities,” said ZDI.
The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in Zimbabwe in March 2019 has worsened the well-being of doctors and nurses as they became vulnerable to the coronavirus due to poor working conditions characterized by lack of personal protective equipment (PPEs).
