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By Johannes Marisa QUALITY health delivery service requires collaboration. In 2007, the World Health Organisation proposed a framework describing health systems in terms of six core components or building blocks. These components are the availability of good service delivery, health workforce, health information systems, access to essential medicines, financing and leadership. Much has been said in our country pertaining the desire to deliver a robust healthcare to the masses. With COVID-19 always threatening to strike further, it is thus prudent that we keep ourselves ready for action so that we are not caught unawares as a nation. While Europe continues to be hit by COVID-19 left, right and centre, the situation in Africa is a little better despite the little resources available. The public health measures that were introduced by authorities paid off with a halt on both morbidity and mortality. Health stakeholders in Zimbabwe include all those who are involved in health service delivery. These include policymakers, health practitioners, city councils, medical aid societies, the donor community, community leaders who, therefore, should come together for the benefit of the nation at large. It is a fact that there has been a lot of dissension among the stakeholders due to differences which have often threatened the viability of the health sector. Surprisingly, some of the contentious issues are easy to resolve. They only need minimal co-operation in order to move ahead. Being difficult does not help matters when dealing with issues, particularly important ones. The following matters have been of concern among stakeholders and it is my prayer that solutions will be found if the country is to make great strides in healthcare delivery: Service providers/medical aid societies feud The friction between service providers and medical aid societies should be resolved if many people are to access healthcare. There are patients that have been denied medical care simply because their health insurers do not want to honour claims from service providers. Some medical aid societies have gone for more than six months without paying a single dollar in this COVID-19 era. Service providers have been left without any option except to demand cash or shortfall upfront, thus putting more misery on patients. Members of medical aid societies should enquire with service providers on when medical aid societies last paid them. Harare City Council/private practitioners food handlers feud There has been acrimony from private practitioners about the way the city health department has handled the issue of food handlers’ certification. Council has claimed that many private practitioners have a tendency of making claims without examining patients, which has been denied by doctors. Council has refused to release medical certificate forms and its officials have gone around restaurants and supermarkets threatening that anyone who has a certificate not signed by council medical practitioners will be arrested. This is very unfair and it ridicules the prof
A November 26 letter from the presidency asked the head of Uganda's national drug authority to 'work out a mechanism' to clear the importation of the vaccines.
China has about five COVID-19 vaccine candidates at different levels of trials. It was not clear what vaccine was being imported into Uganda.
One of the frontrunners is the Sinopharm vaccine developed by the Beijing Institute of Biological Product, a unit of Sinopharm’s China National Biotec Group (CNBG).
On Wednesday, the United Arab Emirates said the vaccine has 86% efficacy, citing an interim analysis of late-stage clinical trials.
China has used the drug to vaccinate up to a million people under its emergency use program.
On Tuesday, Morocco said it was ordering up to 10 million doses of the vaccine.
Record cases
Uganda on Monday registered 701 new COVID-19 cases, the highest-ever daily increase, bringing its national count to 23,200.
The new cases were out of the 5,578 samples tested for the novel coronavirus over the past 24 hours, the country's health ministry said in a statement.
Tuesday's tally was 606, the second-highest ever number of new infections, bringing the cumulative number of confirmed cases in the east African country to 23,860.
Health authorities have blamed ongoing election campaigns which have drawn huge crowds for the rise in infections.
As President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the downgrade to Level 3 of the national Covid-19 lockdown, he thanked scientists for challenging and pushing the government's response to the global pandemic.
\"We appreciate the diverse and sometimes challenging views of the scientists and health professionals in our country, which stimulate public debate and enrich our response,\" he said in his address on Sunday evening.
READ MORE | Another top scientist says experts are being sidelined
News24 reported that the Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC) on Covid-19 came out in support of Professor Glenda Gray, who spoke out against some of the government's regulations during lockdown.
She accused the government of not consulting the country's top scientists on lockdown regulations.
Venter is one of 51 academics who publicly pledged their support to Gray on Saturday after the health department's acting director-general, Dr Anban Pillay, formally requested the South African Medical Research Council, of which Gray is CEO and president, to investigate her comments to News24.
Firms generally dedicate 15% to 20% of their revenues to drug development.
These price controls would reduce drug companies’ revenues by $1 trillion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Based on the Council of Economic Advisors’ assumptions, that means firms will devote roughly $200 billion less to research and development, resulting in 100 fewer new drugs over the next decade.
Once these price controls, taxes, and other penalties begin depleting their revenue, firms will curtail research and development — and thus lay off American workers.
According to a recent poll, 45% of drug firms said that “significant” reductions in research and development could force immediate job cuts and facility closures.
The World Health Assembly, which has been trimmed from the usual three weeks to just two days, Monday and Tuesday, is expected to focus almost solely on Covid-19, which in a matter of months has killed more than 310,000 globally, and infected nearly 4.7 million.
Despite the tensions, countries hope to adopt by consensus a resolution urging a joint response to the pandemic.
While diplomats have agreed in principle on the draft resolution, observers voiced concerns that in the current politicised atmosphere, some countries might still choose to break the consensus next week.
And Washington is also leading a number of countries in demanding that the WHO end its exclusion of Taiwan -- considered by Beijing to be part of its territory -- and allow it to access next week's assembly as an observer.
The United States, which will be represented during the assembly by Health Secretary Alex Azar, is meanwhile not among the countries who are asking the WHA to make a call on the issue of Taiwan's participation.
BY MOSES MATENGA PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday eased the country’s lockdown measures, paving way for the informal sector, industry and intercity travel to start operating as usual while adhering to COVID-19 protocols, but said beerhalls, bars and gymnasiums would remain closed. Food outlets will only be open for takeaways. In his national address to mark the end of level four national lockdown, Mnangagwa said travellers were no longer obliged to produce exemption letters, while curfew hours would start from 10pm to 5:30am. Mnangagwa said schools, colleges and universities “must prepare to reopen”, but did not give any indication of when they would be allowed to resume face-to-face learning. “Schools must prepare to open and put in place measures which observe the World Health Organisation (WHO) protocols and national COVID-19 guidelines. Virtual learning or long-distance learning is encouraged where possible,” he said. “Universities and colleges must also prepare to open and ensure compliance with the WHO protocols and national guidelines. Virtual learning or long-distance learning is equally encouraged where possible.” He, however, did not make any reference to land borders which have been closed to foreign visitors since January 5, although there are no restrictions to air travel. Zimbabwe has been under strict level 4 lockdown measures since January 5, 2021, as numbers of COVID-19 infections and deaths were soaring. However, the country has begun to record zero deaths after observing the strict lockdown regulations. To date, the country has lost 1 463 people to COVID-19, while over 36 000 others have been infected, but Mnangagwa warned against complacency. Mnangagwa said more vaccines would be coming into the country. “An overwhelming number of enquiries from those outside the first phase is encouraging as they show a desire to vaccinate. While the vaccination programme is voluntary, let us remain mindful of the need to protect ourselves, our loved ones and the entire nation,” he said. “The vaccination will be administered for free. Private entities and organisations, who want to procure the vaccines for their staff or members, must be prepared to distribute the vaccine for free. Government will not allow any form of profiteering from the vaccination programme.” Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe was expecting over 1,2 million doses from China, while more would be coming from Russia, the United Kingdom and India. “Over and above the donated total of 400 000 doses, another 600 000 doses of Chinese vaccines will be arriving in the country next week. A further 1,2 million will be availed by Chinese companies.” He said attendances at funerals and other public gatherings would remain restricted to 30, while churches will have a maximum of 50 congregants at any given time. Follow Moses on Twitter Moses @mmatenga
The logistical challenge of COVID-19 vaccine distribution in the U.S. has fallen on algorithms, but lack of transparency plagues the process.
[This Day] With 930 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in a single day, Nigeria yesterday recorded its worst certified transmission of the deadly virus that has so far killed 1,200 people and infected a total of 75,062 since the first case was reported on February 28.
A leading US Intelligence advisor has taken a firm stance on the origins of COVID-19, insisting that the virus came from a biological weapons lab in Wuhan.
Tests on hamsters reveal the widespread use of facemasks reduces transmission of the deadly coronavirus, a team of leading experts in Hong Kong said Sunday.
The research by the University of Hong Kong is some of the first to specifically investigate whether masks can stop symptomatic and asymptomatic Covid-19 carriers from infecting others.
Led by Professor Yuen Kwok-yung, one of the world's top coronavirus experts, the team placed hamsters that were artificially infected with the disease next to healthy animals.
Surgical masks were placed between the two cages with air flow travelling from the infected animals to the healthy ones.
The infection rate plunged to just over 15 per cent when surgical masks were put on the cage of the infected animals and by about 35 per cent when placed on the cage with the healthy hamsters.
