Covid-19: More than a health issue
OUR healthcare system has been put to test as well. The coronavirus pandemic will either expose yawning gaps that need to be addressed immediately to enable us to fight the disease or show how watertight and adequate our health system is.
The pandemic has also put to test our mettle as a people — whether we are going to be subdued by fear or soar above our fearfulness and tackle it unflinchingly so that we can emerge on the other side determined to overcome whatever hurdles come our way in future.
Covid-19 threatens not only human life but has a devastating impact on our social activities and the economic well-being of the nation. The disease poses a threat to all our national developmental and social transformation programmes like Vision 2030. The coronavirus pandemic is not just a health issue, it cascades into all aspects of human lives.
Leaders
President Mnangagwa and Government are proving leadership. They have led the way since day one, through the 21-day national lockdown and a raft of other measures taken to contain the spread of the virus.
The coronavirus pandemic presents a challenge to our leaders, be they in politics, government, religion, business or community — to show their commitment to the common good in the face of adversity.
Our leaders across all sectors should join Government in collectively fighting this pandemic and building a healthy nation. We need a leadership that is God-fearing, honest, dedicated, selfless, disciplined, innovative and results-oriented. A servant leadership that is willing to serve the Zimbabwean people at any cost.
Ubuntu
As Professor Mandivamba Rukuni puts it in his book “Being Afrikan”, our values as African people have for many generations been premised on Unhu/Ubuntu/Botho.
Ubuntu is a Bantu term meaning “humanity”. It is premised on the basis that as a person you are not an island but are connected to others around you.
In a more philosophical sense, Ubuntu or simply “humanism” or “being human”, gives us a sense of belonging and a sense of connectedness and interdependence with others.
It is often translated as “I am because we are” or “humanity towards others”, or in Xhosa “umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu”.
In the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have to show each other and the world what it means to be a human being. We can do this through Ubuntu. Ubuntu will allow us to fight the disease as one people and share the resources that we have to collectively fight the common threat.
Resources
Zimbabwe has abundant natural resources. The challenge for us is to use these resources to improve the good health of our people.
Donations towards the fight against Covid-19 are very encouraging. We should continue with that spirit of Ubuntu and donate more resources.
We can come out of this pandemic leveraging on our available resources and human capabilities.
We should also be creative and innovative in coming up with home-grown solutions to manage this pandemic. Our colleges and universities are already showing that we can be innovative and use own resources to produce personal protective equipment (PPEs), ventilators, sanitisers and medicines that can be used to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
Innovation
As we transition from lockdown, Zimbabweans at all levels will be forced to embrace digital technology as Covid-19 has proven beyond doubt that these tools can make the difference whether we stay alive or not in the face of pandemics.
Post pandemic, it will not be business as usual. Everyone from Government, business and individuals will have to make adjustments.
People who invested in technology at home were able to access important health information in real time. The Covid-19 lockdown taught us new things — that it is possible to keep away from people, self-isolate, work, shop, learn and worship from home.
The coronavirus pandemic has catalysed the digital era in human development. Everyone is going to be forced to go digital and online, in one way or the other.
Government should speed up investing in e-government digital platforms to allow seamless provision of essential services to people even under lockdown.
Our businesses will have to go digital and invest in e-commerce. Investment in online services and remote digital working tools will allow business to continue offering services and people to work from home.
Preparedness
The pandemic has taught us that we should be prepared at all times to face unforeseen catastrophes.
Covid-19 also taught us to invest more resources in our healthcare delivery system in terms of human resources, infrastructure, ambulance and emergency response, PPEs, disease testing equipment and laboratories, water and sanitation, and other measures such as housing to uplift the well-being of our people across Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe needs to fulfil the 2005 Abuja Declaration, which binds all African governments to invest a minimum 1 percent of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) into healthcare.
Our disaster management structures and in particular, the Civil Protection Unit (CPU), should be restructured and adequately resourced in terms of material, financial and human capital requirements so as to increase its capacity to deal effectively with future disasters and pandemics.
The CPU needs to be overhauled and transformed into a robust and visible national disaster management organ. Additionally, its activities need to be decentralised so that its services can be accessed at local, community, district, provincial and national levels.
In summary, the coronavirus pandemic has shown us that in the face of a national disaster, the Government should, among other things, prioritise the following
(including community healthcare systems) to manage a national disaster;
services for the vulnerable people — children, women, the unemployed, homeless etcetera;
and stimulus packages to both formal and informal businesses;
mechanisms to ensure people have access to real-time credible and reliable information from Government-approved sources.
Lockdown
Already different types of lockdowns are being touted, ranging from hard (total) lockdown, soft (relaxed) lockdown and smart (flexible) lockdown.
Lockdown measures that have been put in place by Government are meant to flatten the curve or slow down the rapid spread of the virus.
Removal or relaxation of lockdown measures should, therefore, not be construed to mean that the threat posed by the virus no longer exists. Any easing of lockdown measures should not be abrupt, otherwise we risk reigniting exponential rise in the virus spread curve.
Lifting of lockdown measures should be gradual and systematic, and should be guided by epidemiological criteria. This includes successful implementation of measures to control spread of the virus such as screening, testing and contact tracing.
Healthcare facilities must be upgraded as well as fine-tuning emergency response systems and ensuring availability of personal protective equipment.