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Source: Call to monitor hospital drug stocks | The Herald March 28, 2019

Minister Moyo

Bulawayo Bureau
GOVERNMENT is working on getting access to records of drugs in pharmacies and public hospitals to ensure transparency in drug delivery, Health and Child Care Minister Dr Obadiah Moyo has said.

According to a video posted on Twitter by the ministry, speaking during his tour of health facilities in Manicaland province to assess the situation of Cyclone Idai victims on Tuesday, Dr Moyo said security of medicines in public hospitals was key.

“Of all the issues in the health sector, issues of security of medicines are one of the key areas which we are concerned about. We have encouraged all the heads of clinics and hospitals to make sure that there is adequate security around drugs,” he said.

Dr Moyo said pharmacies should keep a record of drugs that come in and go out for transparency and accountability.

He said this development will ensure that the ministry keeps a record of drugs in stock to avoid a situation where they are “suddenly hit by drug shortages”.

“At the pharmacy side, we have asked the pharmacists to make sure they record all the medicines as they come in or go out. This helps us to know the quantities of drugs in stock so that when a hospital is running out of drugs, we quickly order new stock to avoid a situation where we suddenly run out of drugs,” he said.

The Health and Child Care Minister said in future there is a need to institute computerised system so that the ministry has a register of all drugs in stock.

“We have already implemented this system in Mashonaland East and we want to bring it here in Manicaland,” he said.

Dr Moyo said Government wants to ensure there is adequate health cover in Cyclone Idai- affected areas.

“We want to make sure that everybody is well looked after. We have met all the medical teams on the ground and agreed that we should work together and everything should be coordinated through the provincial medical director, who is also on the ground,” he said.

Dr Moyo said his ministry was working on preventing an outbreak of water-borne diseases especially in Chimanimani and Chipinge which are the worst affected areas.

“We fear outbreaks of diseases such as cholera, dysentery and diarrhoea hence we are putting in place measures to ensure adequate supplies of clean water in affected areas,” he said.

Dr Moyo said his Ministry had secured water purification tablets to be used by those who do not have safe and clean water supplies.

The post Call to monitor hospital drug stocks appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

Government has concluded investigations into the case of Monte Cassino Girls High students, who a fortnight ago besieged Macheke Police Station complaining of corporal punishment being meted on them, among other allegations. Mashonaland East acting provincial education director Kennedy Maturure yesterday confirmed the completion of the investigations and said several recommendations had been

Source: Monte Cassino protests: Govt concludes investigations | Newsday (News)

BY JAIROS SAUNYAMA

Government has concluded investigations into the case of Monte Cassino Girls High students, who a fortnight ago besieged Macheke Police Station complaining of corporal punishment being meted on them, among other allegations.

Mashonaland East acting provincial education director Kennedy Maturure yesterday confirmed the completion of the investigations and said several recommendations had been made.

“I confirm that the report is complete and out. I am currently in Gweru on government duty and we will hand over the report to the permanent secretary. Some of the recommendations will see some of the staff members facing disciplinary hearings and those found wanting will be charged,” he said.

“We have also recommended sending some personnel from the psychological unit to counsel the girls as well as to ensure that they won’t be victimised. I will have finer details of the report on Monday.”

On March 15, the girls left the Catholic Church-run institution at around 4am and walked for about 7km to Macheke Police Station, accusing school authorities of confiscating their laptops, corporal punishment and sexual harassment, among other allegations.

The girls were convinced to go back to school by government officials, who then launched an investigation into the matter.

The Zimbabwe Gender Commission also announced that they would do their own investigations on the school.

The post Monte Cassino protests: Govt concludes investigations appeared first on NewsDay Zimbabwe.

The post Monte Cassino protests: Govt concludes investigations appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

CONTEMPORARY musician Rockford Josphat, better known by his stage names Roki, is officially off the market — at least for now. The talented 33-year old musician revealed on social media that the woman he was pictured embracing in a photo he shared, is actually his new wife. Born in Madagascar and raised in Parktown suburb […]

Source: Cyclone Idai claimed over 560 people, 500 still missing in Rusitu Valley: IOM – NewsDay Zimbabwe March 28, 2019

BY RICHARD MUPONDE

THE International Organisation of Migration (IOM) in Zimbabwe has pegged the Cyclone Idai-induced floods death toll at over 560, with 261 deaths recorded in Manicaland and about 300 bodies discovered on the Indian Ocean coast in neighbouring Mozambique.

The bodies are believed to have been washed into Mozambique from Zimbabwe.

In a report released on Monday, the IOM put the death toll in Manicaland alone at 261 and the number of buried people at 177 across Manicaland province, with the majority buried in Chimanimani.

The organisation reported that 500 people were still missing in Rusitu Valley.

“(The) death toll has reached 261 in Manicaland, with Chimanimani recoding the highest number of deaths, and over 200 people are reported injured in Chimanimani and Chipinge.
More than 300 bodies found in Mozambique on the coast of the Indian Ocean are suspected to have been from Chimanimani-Rusitu Rivers. One-hundred and seventy-seven people have been buried in: Buhera (1), Chimanimani (165), Chipinge (6), Makoni (1) and Mutare Rural (4). One-hundred and eighty-five body bags have been received from the national Civil Protection Committee (CPC),” the report read.

The organisation said 16 000 households needed shelter and non-food items, with Chimanimani and Mutare topping the list with 8 000 and 4 000 respectively, Chipinge 3 000 and Buhera 1 000.

“IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix is on the ground to verify and generate accurate numbers of affected population and their life-saving needs. More than 500 people are still missing in Rusitu Valley in Chimanimani. District rescue efforts are still hampered by damaged roads,” the organisation said.

It said 80 people had been airlifted to medical centres in Chimanimani, Mutambara and Mutare provincial hospitals and access to the most affected areas of Chimanimani was still a challenge.

A makeshift bridge has been constructed to access Kopa and Chimanimani town from Chipinge via Mafusire High School, which was reportedly accessible with 4X4 vehicles only.
The death toll reported by the organisation may have since risen given that more bodies are still being retrieved at Kopa.

Two days ago, the body of a suspected 12-year-old boy was recovered under debris at Ngangu township.

Zimbabwe has also turned to South Africa for sniffer dogs to help in retrieval operations as local canines are not trained to search for corpses.

The post Cyclone Idai claimed over 560 people, 500 still missing in Rusitu Valley: IOM  appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.