The U.N. health agency says the number of cholera cases in Zimbabwe has soared above 80,000.
The World Health Organization said Friday that the death toll is now 3,759 out of 80,250 cases.
Spokeswoman Fadela Chaib said those figures include all reported cases and deaths since the outbreak began in August through Thursday.
Cholera has spread rapidly in the African nation because of Zimbabwe's poorly maintained infrastructure and crumbling health care system.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
New Minister of Labor Needs to Review Social Welfare Policy and Programs
The newly appointed minister of labor, Ms Pauline Gwanyanya, needs to take a closer look and develop a kin interest in the suffering of poor Zimbabweans who lack a safety net that can protect them from the very harsh economic situation in Zimbabwe.
As a graduate student studying social welfare and public policy I am moved by the social injustice that Zimbabweans have to endure during this period of global and national economic turmoil which has been accentuated by the hitherto incompetent Robert Mugabe government which has since been diluted by the Movement for Democratic Change.
The new minister needs to assess social needs of the people of Zimbabwe who are either unemployed or employed but earning insufficient incomes as well as the most vulnerable populations such as children, the sick, and the aged. Today, it has been reported that the United Kingdom announced a plan to repatriate aged British nationals who have been ignored by the Zimbabwean government. The plight of the weak and the aged needs to be put into perspective and strategies adopted to ameliorate their suffering.
There are a number of models that can be followed inorder to improve the living conditions of the poor in Zimbabwe. The American and Swedish welfare systems are commendable and certainly ideal models to follow.
As a graduate student studying social welfare and public policy I am moved by the social injustice that Zimbabweans have to endure during this period of global and national economic turmoil which has been accentuated by the hitherto incompetent Robert Mugabe government which has since been diluted by the Movement for Democratic Change.
The new minister needs to assess social needs of the people of Zimbabwe who are either unemployed or employed but earning insufficient incomes as well as the most vulnerable populations such as children, the sick, and the aged. Today, it has been reported that the United Kingdom announced a plan to repatriate aged British nationals who have been ignored by the Zimbabwean government. The plight of the weak and the aged needs to be put into perspective and strategies adopted to ameliorate their suffering.
There are a number of models that can be followed inorder to improve the living conditions of the poor in Zimbabwe. The American and Swedish welfare systems are commendable and certainly ideal models to follow.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Social Welfare Reform Needed in Zimbabwe
The current humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe calls for an evaluation and restructuring of the Zimbabwe Social Welfare Policy and Programs. Priorities need to be centered on the welfare of children, women, the sick,the disabled, low-income families, and the unemployed.
There is a need to cut down spending in sectors such as defence and foreign affairs. The funds that will be saved from this exercise need to be diverted towards social welfare and additionally the national fiscus needs to expand the resource base for this crucial sector. Zimbabwe needs to address the current poverty affecting the majority of the population which cannot afford basic commodities such as mealie-meal, cooking oil, bread, milk, and meat. Tuition in schools is now out of reach for many while clinics and hospitals have since been closed worsening the HIV/AIDS situation and the recent outbreak of cholera.
This blogger recommends food vouchers, tuition assistance, universal health insurance, and unemployment benefits for the virtually idle population. This will stimulate the ailing economy and boost the agricultural, manufacturing, and retail industry. Above all, this will ameliorate the problem of poverty which has become a humanitarian catastrophe in Zimbabwe.
In the upcoming contributions on this subject this blogger will evaluate the current social welfare policy and the Millenium development goals and examine whether they are adequate and being met. This blogger will analyze the mission of the department of social welfare and evaluate whether the government is doing enough or nothing to achieve its goals. Finally, strategies will be recommended of improving the appaling living conditions of Zimbabweans today.
There is a need to cut down spending in sectors such as defence and foreign affairs. The funds that will be saved from this exercise need to be diverted towards social welfare and additionally the national fiscus needs to expand the resource base for this crucial sector. Zimbabwe needs to address the current poverty affecting the majority of the population which cannot afford basic commodities such as mealie-meal, cooking oil, bread, milk, and meat. Tuition in schools is now out of reach for many while clinics and hospitals have since been closed worsening the HIV/AIDS situation and the recent outbreak of cholera.
This blogger recommends food vouchers, tuition assistance, universal health insurance, and unemployment benefits for the virtually idle population. This will stimulate the ailing economy and boost the agricultural, manufacturing, and retail industry. Above all, this will ameliorate the problem of poverty which has become a humanitarian catastrophe in Zimbabwe.
In the upcoming contributions on this subject this blogger will evaluate the current social welfare policy and the Millenium development goals and examine whether they are adequate and being met. This blogger will analyze the mission of the department of social welfare and evaluate whether the government is doing enough or nothing to achieve its goals. Finally, strategies will be recommended of improving the appaling living conditions of Zimbabweans today.
Zimbabwe Government's Department of Social Services
MISSION STATEMENT
1. To provide assistance and support to the vulnerable through the development and implementation of effective policies and legal instruments, proffessional social work and training in order to promote self-reliance and social security.
2. To reduce poverty and enhance self-reliance through the provision of social protection services to vulnerable and disadvantagcd groups in society.
This is done through:-
the care and protection of minors; and adoption of children;
the establishment of corrective institutions and rehabilitation of beggars, vagrants and prostitutes;
family casework;
provision of therapy and counselling services for the physically and mentally handicapped;
counselling on alcohol and drug abuses;
provision of protection and care of refugees;
provision of rehabilitation services for the disabled, care for the aged and supervision of the services given by private old people's homes;
the administartion of the National Heroes Act;
the administration of the War Veterans Act;
the administration of the Disability Act;
distribution of drought relief in drought stricken areas;
provision of material assistance to destitutes such as school, examination and health fees and maintenance allowances; and
the registration and monitoring private voluntary organisations both local and foreign, operating in Zimbabwe.
The Department undertakes to administer, co-ordinate, monitor the effective and efficient delivery of social protection interventions through Central Government by:
(1) Co-ordinating the design and formulation of social policy on a continuous basis;
(2) Publicising all the social protection programmes at the beginning of every financial year;
(3) Registering private voluntary organizations within three-months of receipt of documents;
(4) Setting and reviewing standards and guidelines for the delivery of social protection by local authorities at the beginning of every financial year;
(5) Registering and counselling refugees within three months of arrival;
(6) Paying correct maintenance allowances/food vouchers to refugees at the end of every month;
(7) Repatriating refugees whenever conditions are conducive; and
(8) Processing business proposals submitted by micro-finance institutions within forty-five days. Through local authorities, in accordance with agreed standards by:
(9) Investigating and assessing public assistance cases within fourteen (14) working days of receipt of the necessary information;
(10) Paying correct public assistance entitlements to qualifying individuals at the end of every month;
(11) Paying fees and grants to institutions within thirty (30) days of receipt of claim documents;
(12) Providing relief assistance to survivors of disasters within a month upon the onset of the event;
(13) Assessing adoptive and foster parents within six (6) months of submission of application;
(14) Investigating cases of children at risk into places of safety within 48 hours;
(15) Removing and replacing children at risk into places of safety within 48 hours;
(16) Presenting cases to court within the prescribed legal period;
(17) Compiling reports and representing children in court within the prescribed legal period;
(18) Rehabilitating delinquents within three (3) years;
(19) Reviewing court orders before date of expiry of existing order;
(20) Processing applications for registration of welfare organizations within six (6) months;
(21) Investigating queries/complaints pertaining to welfare organizations and institutions within two (2) weeks of receipt of reports;
(22) Counselling individuals and families within seven (7) days after presentation;
(23) Promoting the rights of vulnerable groups by conducting awareness campaigns quarterly;
(24) Processing repatriations of non-nationals within four (4) months of application; and
(25) Registering creches within six (6) months of application and inspecting them every six (6) months
1. To provide assistance and support to the vulnerable through the development and implementation of effective policies and legal instruments, proffessional social work and training in order to promote self-reliance and social security.
2. To reduce poverty and enhance self-reliance through the provision of social protection services to vulnerable and disadvantagcd groups in society.
This is done through:-
the care and protection of minors; and adoption of children;
the establishment of corrective institutions and rehabilitation of beggars, vagrants and prostitutes;
family casework;
provision of therapy and counselling services for the physically and mentally handicapped;
counselling on alcohol and drug abuses;
provision of protection and care of refugees;
provision of rehabilitation services for the disabled, care for the aged and supervision of the services given by private old people's homes;
the administartion of the National Heroes Act;
the administration of the War Veterans Act;
the administration of the Disability Act;
distribution of drought relief in drought stricken areas;
provision of material assistance to destitutes such as school, examination and health fees and maintenance allowances; and
the registration and monitoring private voluntary organisations both local and foreign, operating in Zimbabwe.
The Department undertakes to administer, co-ordinate, monitor the effective and efficient delivery of social protection interventions through Central Government by:
(1) Co-ordinating the design and formulation of social policy on a continuous basis;
(2) Publicising all the social protection programmes at the beginning of every financial year;
(3) Registering private voluntary organizations within three-months of receipt of documents;
(4) Setting and reviewing standards and guidelines for the delivery of social protection by local authorities at the beginning of every financial year;
(5) Registering and counselling refugees within three months of arrival;
(6) Paying correct maintenance allowances/food vouchers to refugees at the end of every month;
(7) Repatriating refugees whenever conditions are conducive; and
(8) Processing business proposals submitted by micro-finance institutions within forty-five days. Through local authorities, in accordance with agreed standards by:
(9) Investigating and assessing public assistance cases within fourteen (14) working days of receipt of the necessary information;
(10) Paying correct public assistance entitlements to qualifying individuals at the end of every month;
(11) Paying fees and grants to institutions within thirty (30) days of receipt of claim documents;
(12) Providing relief assistance to survivors of disasters within a month upon the onset of the event;
(13) Assessing adoptive and foster parents within six (6) months of submission of application;
(14) Investigating cases of children at risk into places of safety within 48 hours;
(15) Removing and replacing children at risk into places of safety within 48 hours;
(16) Presenting cases to court within the prescribed legal period;
(17) Compiling reports and representing children in court within the prescribed legal period;
(18) Rehabilitating delinquents within three (3) years;
(19) Reviewing court orders before date of expiry of existing order;
(20) Processing applications for registration of welfare organizations within six (6) months;
(21) Investigating queries/complaints pertaining to welfare organizations and institutions within two (2) weeks of receipt of reports;
(22) Counselling individuals and families within seven (7) days after presentation;
(23) Promoting the rights of vulnerable groups by conducting awareness campaigns quarterly;
(24) Processing repatriations of non-nationals within four (4) months of application; and
(25) Registering creches within six (6) months of application and inspecting them every six (6) months
Zimbabwe Government's Millenium Development Goals
Publicizing and Scrutinizing Social Welfare Policy in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe Millennium Development Goals 2015
By 2015 Zimbabwe has pledged to:
GOAL 1.
Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Target 1:
* Halve, between 2002 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than the Total Consumption Poverty Line (TCPL).
* Halve, between 2000 and 2015, the proportion of people in Human Poverty, as measured by the Human Poverty Index (HPI).
Target 2:
i Halve, between 2002 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger.
ii Reduce by two-thirds, between 2002 and 2015, the proportion of under-five children who are malnourished.
GOAL 2.
Achieve universal primary education
Target 3:
. Ensure that, between 2000 and 2015, all Zimbabwean children, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full programme of primary education.
GOAL 3.
Promote gender equality and empower women
Target 4 (A):
Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably, by 2005 and at ail levels ot education no later than 2015.
Target 4 (B):
. Increase the participation of women in decision-making in all sectors and at all levels (to 40% for women in senior civil service positions and to 30% for women in Parliament) by 2005 and to 50:50 balance by 2015.
GOAL 4,
Reduce child mortality
Target 5:
.Reduce bv two-thirds, between 2000 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate.
GOAL 5.
Improve maternal health
Target 6:
. Reduce by three-quarters, between 2000 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio.
GOAL 6.
Combat HIV and AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Target 7:
. Have halted, by 2015, and begun to reverse the spread of HIV and AIDS.
Target 8:
.Have halted, by 2015, and began to reverse the increasing incidence of Malaria, TB and Diarrhoeal diseases.
GOAL 7.
Ensure environmental sustainability
Target 9:
Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reverse the loss of environmental resources.
Target 10:
Halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.
Target 11:
By 2020, achieve a significant improvement in the housing condition of at least 1,000,000 slum dwellers, peri-urban and high density lodgers.
GOAL 8.
Develop a global partnership for development
Target 12:
Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system.
Target 13:
Not Applicable
Target 14:
Address the special needs of the countrv's landlocked status.
Target 15:
Deal comprehensively with debt problems.
Target 16:
In co-operation with strategic partners, develop and implement strategies for decent and productive work for everyone.
Target 17:
In co-operation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs.
Target 18:
In co-operation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications.
Zimbabwe Millennium Development Goals 2015
By 2015 Zimbabwe has pledged to:
GOAL 1.
Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Target 1:
* Halve, between 2002 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than the Total Consumption Poverty Line (TCPL).
* Halve, between 2000 and 2015, the proportion of people in Human Poverty, as measured by the Human Poverty Index (HPI).
Target 2:
i Halve, between 2002 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger.
ii Reduce by two-thirds, between 2002 and 2015, the proportion of under-five children who are malnourished.
GOAL 2.
Achieve universal primary education
Target 3:
. Ensure that, between 2000 and 2015, all Zimbabwean children, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full programme of primary education.
GOAL 3.
Promote gender equality and empower women
Target 4 (A):
Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably, by 2005 and at ail levels ot education no later than 2015.
Target 4 (B):
. Increase the participation of women in decision-making in all sectors and at all levels (to 40% for women in senior civil service positions and to 30% for women in Parliament) by 2005 and to 50:50 balance by 2015.
GOAL 4,
Reduce child mortality
Target 5:
.Reduce bv two-thirds, between 2000 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate.
GOAL 5.
Improve maternal health
Target 6:
. Reduce by three-quarters, between 2000 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio.
GOAL 6.
Combat HIV and AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Target 7:
. Have halted, by 2015, and begun to reverse the spread of HIV and AIDS.
Target 8:
.Have halted, by 2015, and began to reverse the increasing incidence of Malaria, TB and Diarrhoeal diseases.
GOAL 7.
Ensure environmental sustainability
Target 9:
Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reverse the loss of environmental resources.
Target 10:
Halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.
Target 11:
By 2020, achieve a significant improvement in the housing condition of at least 1,000,000 slum dwellers, peri-urban and high density lodgers.
GOAL 8.
Develop a global partnership for development
Target 12:
Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system.
Target 13:
Not Applicable
Target 14:
Address the special needs of the countrv's landlocked status.
Target 15:
Deal comprehensively with debt problems.
Target 16:
In co-operation with strategic partners, develop and implement strategies for decent and productive work for everyone.
Target 17:
In co-operation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs.
Target 18:
In co-operation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Average Zimbabwean now living in extreme poverty
There are four categories of poverty, namely, absolute poverty, relative poverty, extreme poverty, and moderate poverty (Viggiani, 2007). Of these four, the average Zimbabwean(majority) aptly falls into the third category which has been defined by Viggiani as referring to chronic hunger and no access to health care, safe drinking water, sanitation, education, and housing. The World Bank uses a standard of income of U.S. $1 per day per person or less of purchasing power.
Recently, the estimate for cholera case was put at around 60 000 people and 3000 deaths due to this easily curable disease.The country's major hospitals such as Parirenyatwa, Harare, Mpilo, and Bulawayo Hospital have been closed living thousands to resort to rural hospitals and financially inaccessable private hospitals such as St. Annes, Baines, and Avenues Hospitals.
Zimbabwe has 80% unemployment and 7 out of 10 people eat one meal a day in a country whose inflation is a staggering 231 million percent.According to the Combined Harare Residence Association (19-24 January 2009 Report) a family of six requires US$86 per week to survive, that is, purchasing a 10kg bag of mealie meal, 2 litres cooking oil,6 kgs economy beef, transportation, bread, 2kgs of sugar, and 6 litres of drink. Meanwhile, lecturers in universities are earning US$50 per month.
The main cause of this extreme poverty has been structural, meaning, it is a result of a system presided over by the government of Robert Mugabe. There has been no policy intervention to create a safety net for the low-income population and the unemployed. Apparently, societal structures have been favoring the ruling elite over the rest of the impoverished population.
Recently, the estimate for cholera case was put at around 60 000 people and 3000 deaths due to this easily curable disease.The country's major hospitals such as Parirenyatwa, Harare, Mpilo, and Bulawayo Hospital have been closed living thousands to resort to rural hospitals and financially inaccessable private hospitals such as St. Annes, Baines, and Avenues Hospitals.
Zimbabwe has 80% unemployment and 7 out of 10 people eat one meal a day in a country whose inflation is a staggering 231 million percent.According to the Combined Harare Residence Association (19-24 January 2009 Report) a family of six requires US$86 per week to survive, that is, purchasing a 10kg bag of mealie meal, 2 litres cooking oil,6 kgs economy beef, transportation, bread, 2kgs of sugar, and 6 litres of drink. Meanwhile, lecturers in universities are earning US$50 per month.
The main cause of this extreme poverty has been structural, meaning, it is a result of a system presided over by the government of Robert Mugabe. There has been no policy intervention to create a safety net for the low-income population and the unemployed. Apparently, societal structures have been favoring the ruling elite over the rest of the impoverished population.
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