Suspension Of UZ Medical Courses Criticised
4 years agoThu, 24 Sep 2020 11:10:42 GMT
The government’s decision to suspend the University of Zimbabwe’s Masters of Medicine and Masters of Obstetrics and Gynecology programmes has been criticised by some doctors and political activists.
The rationale behind the move which comes when the country has inadequate health caregivers is however not known.
Commenting on the matter, Dr Norman Matara, the Treasurer of the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights said:
Registrars (DRs training 2be specialists): In order for us 2provide good care 2 pregnant women we need PPE, re-open theatres, nurses for patient care, emergency medicines, CTGs for fetal monitoring Gvt: Suspend them & ban them from public hospitals Command Health era is upon us.
His sentiments were echoed by advocate Fadzayi Mahere, a law lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe and spokesperson of the opposition MDC Alliance led by Nelson Chamisa. Mahere said:
Bringing a militaristic approach to matters of public health is undesirable. Why not address the concerns raised by doctors? Why not use science instead of force to make decisions? Why not exercise leadership as opposed to invoking draconian threats? We need new leaders.
These sentiments remind of the fears the citizenry had when Vice President Constantino Chiwenga was appointed Health Minister to replace Dr Obadiah Moyo who is facing criminal abuse of office charges.
Some analysts back then argued that Chiwenga had no known record in the medical field while his military background was enough reason for not giving him the ministry.
More: Norman Matara; Fadzayi Mahere
