Projects

In 2019, ZHTS partnered with the Epilepsy Support Foundation (ESF) to enhance epilepsy identification and management skills among healthcare workers in Zvimba District. With approval from the Ministry of Health and Child Care in Zimbabwe, Phase 1 achieved the following milestones:

• Collaboration with key partners to develop an Epilepsy Manual for Primary Health Workers.
• Conducted Training of Trainers sessions for 7 senior district leaders.
• Trained 230 nurses and village health workers across 5 areas in the district.

As of May 2024, Phase 2 of the project has commenced, focusing on the following objectives:

• Providing training to an additional >215 primary health workers in Zvimba District.
• Conducting training for 18 local teachers in Zvimba.
• Compiling and delivering a comprehensive Monitoring and Evaluation report.

Upon completion, we commit to sharing key findings and project outcomes on our website.

The Business Council for Africa is a not-for-profit organisation connecting Africa to the international business community and investing in Africa’s next generation of business leaders. The pandemic has posed many challenges for the health education field; however, we have pursued taking advantage of openings while paying close attention to public health guidelines to ensure the safety of our patients and staff.

The strength of any education program is its longevity. In line with our sustainability model, we were keen to measure the impact that the project has had in upskilling leadership skills in our Community Champions and Researchers. Here we share some of the testimonies shared by our community staff

Kumbirai, a 20 year-old young woman from Mbare, said:

‘The workshop in Ngomahuru mental health hospital helped me get more knowledge on Mental health and l also got some basic skills on how to facilitate workshops which may include mental health patients, it also helped me know how to access information on epilepsy and the safe guarding needs of the patients.

The workshop boosted my confidence even more, as I had to facilitate more workshops on mental health and sexual health, which some of the stakeholders also took part in. The patients were really free and open, which also helped me develop more knowledge.

Working with Doc Chido was one of the best experiences ever in my life, she was really free and open to talk to or for discussion even when I didn’t feel like l could do things she made me believe l was the best in it as working with her l learnt how to facilitate workshops on sexual health and mental health which was a great experience for me and l took notes from her as well which is now an advantage to my skill as l learnt a lot from her also not forgetting the supportive team which was there to back me up whenever I needed a hand and it was a great experience exchanging knowledge between us as young people

Posted by Dorcas Gwata – ZHTS Trustee December 2021

Family doctors are critical to Zimbabwe’s health system, but until now, there has been no specific training programme for doctors who want to develop a career in family medicine. ZHTS is helping to change that.

In Zimbabwe, two-thirds of all registered doctors work as generalists either in the public sector or private practice. Those working for government, municipalities and mission hospitals support nurses who provide primary health care while dealing with more complex cases themselves. Such doctors are frequently largely unsupported, but have to deal with a wide range of challenging medical and surgical problems. In a typical day these doctors may carry out ward rounds, see patients referred by nurses, and deal with common emergencies such as fractures, obstructed labour (when caesarian section is necessary) and teach nurses.  In private practice generalists provide continuing primary care to a group of people, but may also care for in-patients and perform surgical procedures.

Despite the wide range of skills expected of generalists and their importance in Zimbabwe’s health system, until now there has been no specific training programme for doctors who want to develop a career in family medicine.

Since 2012, ZHTS has been working with the College of Primary Care Physicians of Zimbabwe (CPCPZ). We are currently developing a partnership with Medics Academy to make available on-line continuing medical education to all generalist doctors in the country. 

In 2014, clinicians from all 10 provinces of Zimbabwe attended the National Mental Health Training at Parirenyatwa, Harare hospital. 

Mental Health Recovery Training at Ingutsheni hospital, Bulawayo 

ZHTS has been building up a database of health professionals in the UK who can support their fellow workers in Zimbabwe.

A survey of ZHTS members has identified a number who would be willing to share their skills with colleagues in Zimbabwe.  These include doctors from a wide range of specialities but also health professionals from other disciplines with important skills in, for example, infection control, clinical governance, medical sonograpy, health commissioning and research methods.  Many have expressed a willingness to fund themselves on a visit to Zimbabwe.

These are just some of the fields in which UK health professionals have offered their skills to help their counterparts in Zimbabwe:

• Psychiatry
• Neurology
• Anaesthetics
• Respiratory medicine
• Medical education
• Radiology
• Professional accountability, clinical governance
• Infection control
• Paediatrics
• Obstetrics and gynaecology
• Medical sonography
• Family medicine
• Patient and public engagement/health commissioning
• Research methods

We are keen to develop the skills database – if you would like to offer your skills please fill in the survey and contact us to find out more.