Zimpapers Logo

Dr Stamps

Margaret Matibiri Herald Correspondent
The memorial service for national hero Dr Timothy Stamps will be held at 9am today at Celebration Centre in Borrowdale, Harare. The late national hero’s son, Kenyon, announced that all other arrangements would be made public at the memorial service. The event is open to everyone. Dr Stamps, who was the Health Advisor to the President and Cabinet and former Minister of Health and Child Welfare, died on November 26 at Borrowdale Trauma Centre after a lung infection and was declared a national hero.

He was 81.
Dr Stamps was born in Wales on October 15, 1936 and came to Zimbabwe in 1968.
He grew up in England where he became one of the youngest doctors in the United Kingdom at the time.

Before independence, he worked for the then Salisbury (now Harare) Municipality’s health department and rose to become the city’s chief medical officer. He clashed with racist authorities then after trying to facilitate access to health facilities for black people that were marginalised. Dr Stamps was appointed Minister of Health and Child Welfare in 1990, taking over from Dr Felix Muchemwa, a position he held until 2002.

He is credited with playing a pivotal role in the fight against HIV and Aids. In 1999, he led an initiative to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. His efforts, in collaboration with officials from his ministry, saw the creation of the National Aids Council through an Act of Parliament. In 2004, Dr Stamps founded the Dr Timothy Stamps Trust for people living with chronic conditions after being touched by their plight.

The foundation also helps to ease the burden of non-communicable diseases in the country. Dr Stamps is survived by his wife, Cindy, six children and eight-grandchildren.