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Dr Parirenyatwa

Ropafadzo Ndangariro and Joyce Mukucha
Health and Child Care Minister Dr David Parirenyatwa on Wednesday attributed the recent outbreak on typhoid at Matapi Flats in Mbare to Harare City Council’s failure to provide essential services to residents. He made the remarks during a visit to Matapi Clinic to assess the situation after 17 cases of typhoid were confirmed. Dr Parirenyatwa said typhoid, cholera and diarrhoea would never be eliminated as long as there was poor sanitation, poor water supply and a poor sewerage system.

“Whatever we do in the health sector, as long as people are not getting clean water and their sewages are not disposed properly, as soon as that happens, we will expect some of these conditions,” he said.

“As far as the health sector is concerned, we will try and treat, we will try to talk about it for prevention, but as long as we have a dirty city like this one, we continue to have these problems of cholera and typhoid; this is a very sad situation.” Dr Parirenyatwa said although Matapi Hostels was condemned, people were still staying there.

“We understand that people want somewhere to stay, but then we are breeding diseases; that’s exactly what is happening,” he said.
“These buildings have been condemned on health grounds, they are no longer safe, so I advise that some of them should be removed, and the Government must provide good shelter for these people instead of continuing to treat such kind of diseases.” Health officials at the makeshift clinic at Matapi Flats said Dr Parirenyatwa continued to do their job well given that of the 150 people that have been screened so far, at least 23 cases have been confirmed. No fatalities have been recorded.

“Today, doctors have screened over 150 people and 23 of them have been confirmed to have the disease, and they have been referred to Beatrice Road Infectious Diseases Hospitals,” said Dr Parirenyatwa. He encouraged Mbare residents that have symptoms normally associated with typhoid to immediately seek medical help. Dr Parirenyatwa urged doctors to refer patients to clinics rather than give them anti-biotics.