GOVERNMENT has said it is going to investigate the possible
theft of personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline workers in the
health sector which is not reaching the intended beneficiaries after being
released from the National Pharmaceutical Company (NatPharm).
The Ministry of Health and Child Care said despite
distributing PPE to various stations, health workers are still complaining that
they are not receiving the critical clothing.
PPE is important for health workers as it protects them
from contracting Covid-19.
In an interview on the sidelines of a training workshop for
health care workers from Bulawayo, Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South,
Midlands and Masvingo on handling of Covid-19 cases yesterday in Bulawayo,
Ministry of Health and Child Care epidemiology and disease control director, Dr
Portia Manangazira said NatPharm is responsible for logistics and distribution
of the PPE.
She said Government was concerned that the protective
clothing was not getting to frontline workers after being released from
NatPharm.
She said this is happening despite Government implementing
measures to ensure there is increased production of the equipment locally as
well as addressing procurement bottlenecks for the importation of PPE.
“To date we have seen quite a lot of protective clothing
being produced locally. We also have made improvement in terms of procurement
bottlenecks in terms of getting those that cannot be produced locally to be
brought in from outside. The case in point being surgical masks, but also the
N95 masks which are required by the health care workers to protect them. You
have seen improvement in terms of the supply,” she said.
“The concern has been to ensure that all the facilities
managing Covid-19 have got sustained supplies. But also, to block some of the
pilferage that has been going on in the system. So, you will find out that
sometimes there has been issuance of the PPE but you go there (to medical
facilities) and the health care workers still say they have not received it.”
Dr Manangazira said the Ministry will investigate the issue
to ensure that frontline workers get the necessary protective clothing.
“This training exposes me to five provinces and if you hear
health care workers from a number of areas expressing that (not getting PPE),
then it’s something that needs to be taken up with the Ministry management.
It’s a management and governance challenge,” she said.
She said Government has trained more than 4 000 workers in
the medical sector on handling Covid-19.
Dr Manangazira said the Ministry has 35 000 workers who
need training and the same process should be extended to those working for
local authorities and the private sector.
The training was organised by Providence Human Capital, a
subsidiary of Innscor Africa as part of the company’s corporate social
responsibility.
Dr Manangazira said it was critical for the private sector
to be involved in fighting Covid-19 as the virus is highly contagious and knows
no boundary.
Providence Human Capital southern region manager Ms Buhle
Ndlovu said her company has done a similar training in Harare for medical
employees in the northern part of the country
“The Government has said let it be a responsibility for
each and every company that they are providing all safety requirements that are
needed by their employees to report for duty. Let’s follow the Government’s
initiatives because it is not only applying to us only in Zimbabwe, it is
happening globally. This is what our company is doing as Providence Human
Capital and a division of Innscor Africa, companies should train their workers
on Covid-19 and not wait to get the information from the media,” she said.-
Chronicle
0 comments:
Post a Comment