For an effective and efficient health service delivery to exist in any country, the human resources in the health sector need to be trained, skilled and motivated. In Zimbabwe in our endeavour to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, proper human resource management has to be done in the health sector for us to reduce child mortality, improve maternal health and combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.

The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC-Zimbabwe), through the President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has made a donation of IT equipment and a generator to the Nurses Council of Zimbabwe to help them implement a national human resources information system (HRIS).

Speaking at the official handover ceremony, US Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Charles Ray, pointed out the importance of an HRIS, “A strong human resources information system helps health care leaders answer the key policy questions affecting health service, such as workforce planning, training, qualifications, service delivery and retention”. The Minister of Health and Child Welfare, Dr Henry Madzorera, added that an electronic information system would enable the regulation of nurses in the health sector.

Over the years the brain drain has adversely impacted Zimbabwe, and the health sector is one of the most affected sectors. Zimbabwe has lost professional nurses and doctors in search for greener pastures in neighbouring countries and abroad.

The International Organisation of Migration (IOM) under the programme, Temporary Return of Health Professionals to Zimbabwe, aim to bring back health professionals to Zimbabwe to work in the health sector in their area of specialization or as lecturers at local universities. Such projects are good initiatives as they enable knowledge sharing and address existing gaps within the health sector. However, for such programmes to function to their full potential and realise their set goals and objectives, good information systems are required. Thus the setting up of an HRIS will be a valuable collaboration between the Ministry of Health and civil society.

Makes you wonder why this doesn’t happen in Zimbabwe.

From Pambazuka News:

Protests have broken out in the Senegalese capital Dakar and in the southern city of Mbour over continuing power shortages. In Dakar, several government buildings were set on fire including the offices of the state electricity firm, Senelec. Security forces in Mbour fired tear gas to disperse thousands of demonstrators. The trouble over power cuts, which have lasted 48 hours in some areas, come just a week after rioting against the president.

People who attended a Harare Residents Trust meeting (HRT) were left terrified after ZANU PF youths gate crashed the event and beat up guests and members. The meeting was held on Saturday (25 June) at the Mbare Netball Complex, with the aim of discussing issues affecting residents, such as the problems with power shedding and refuse collection. However, a ZANU PF mob appeared and unleashed terror. Among those who were severely beaten was Precious Shumba, HRT co-ordinator and founder, who had to be taken to hospital. Although now discharged he is still too unwell to attend work. More

Zimbabwean Journalist Forward Maisokwadzo has become the first person to receive the European Network against Racism Foundation’s (ENAR) award for outstanding achievement across Europe. It is a tribute to his three years of hard work in preparing Bristol’s bid to be part of a national network of cities recognised as providing a comprehensive, coordinated approach to the welfare of people moving to the city from other countries, and community cohesion.

Read story here

Over the weekend I was in town going around hardware shops looking for price quotations for building materials. I was looking for plumbing material, which Chitungwiza Town Council failed to provide me. After visiting the Chitungwiza Town Council offices on several occasions asking them come and connect water and waste disposal pipes at my place, I was finally told to buy my own pipes and pay the connection fee.

So I went around several hardware shops asking for price quotations in town. The most surprising thing was that, of the three shops I visited they had already adjusted prices for all the products on shelves in anticipation of the pay increase which civil servants had been promised. The previous day I had checked prices for the material I wanted to buy so there I was arguing with the shop assistant over the prices. So I moved to the next shop and it was the same story. Since it a was a Saturday I had paid little attention to the news headlines in daily papers only to be reminded by the shop assistant that the story of civil servants pay increase was the headline of the day. This got me interested so I rushed to grab one of the daily papers and it was on the front page “Civil servants get salary increment”. The interest I had about the article quickly faded just a few lines into the story when I read that government’s pay increase will give a $31 rise in the basic salary of the lowest-earning employee.

The culture of adjusting prices and overcharging, which was heavily experienced during the Zimbabwe dollar era, is still part of some unscrupulous business people in this country. But this time I guess the timing to make a killing was wrong because its only $31.

The Graduation Ceremony of students who got scholarships in the US under the US Student Achievers Program (USAP) was held yesterday. This event was a true personification of Ambassadors Ray’s latest book title, ‘Where you come from matters less than where you’re going”. It is true in the sense that students are academically talented with most of them being head boys and head girls in their former schools, but face financial challenges in furthering their education.  Some have lost both parents, others are heads of their own households and three of them are physically disabled. Despite such backgrounds USAP has afforded them the opportunity to study at top US colleges and universities including Harvard. This resembles the title of the Ambassador’s book; in that one day you may be somewhere great and tell a different story altogether.

The event was graced by the Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai and Ambassador Charles Ray. The PM encouraged the students to exhibit the Zimbabwean characteristics of ‘hospitality and hard work’ and to return home. In that same vein the Ambassador urged the students to return to Zimbabwe with these words, “And do return. Zimbabwe needs you and your talent, your open minds and your news ideas, to realise its potential”.