Lazarus Sauti

Lazarus Sauti The use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), communication devices or applications such as the radio, television, landline and cellular phones, computer hardware and software, satellite systems as well as the various services and applications associated with them, is at the heart of human development as it enables people to access information, improve water and sanitation as well as keep in good health. Despite the fact that 96 percent of Zimbabweans have cellphone services, according to a report by Afrobarometer, a pan-African and non-partisan research network, most rural dwellers are not enjoying such services due to different reasons such as network problems, lack of power, poor and expensive connectivity, inappropriate ICT policies and language barriers. This was vindicated by the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2014 as it indicated that the overall access to mass media and ICT in rural Zimbabwe is still low due to factors such a...

Lazarus Sauti Children in Zimbabwe, and other southern African countries, are vulnerable to road injuries. In this country, more than half of people killed on the roads are helpless road users, namely pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. Sadly, many are children. “Roads are the leading cause of injury for children over five not only here in Zimbabwe, but in southern Africa and other nations in the world,” said Allowance Sango of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development, adding that, “Globally, roads are the leading killer of children over ten.” The recently released World Health Organisation’s Global Status Report on Road Safety (2015) also indicated that “1.25 million people die each year from traffic crashes, and many of these are children, who are highly exposed on our roads.” The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) added: “Every hour, nearly 150 children between ages 0 to 19 are treated in emergency departments for injuries sustaine...

Lazarus Sauti Agriculture is considered to be one of the most vulnerable sectors to the adverse effects of climate change in Southern African Development Community (SADC). Negative effects of climate change on agriculture, caused by land degradation, water shortages and crop failures, affect the economies of member-states more severely as a large share of people in the region depend on agricultural incomes for living. Further, climate change in the form of temperature increase tends to reduce agricultural output as the crops speed through their development and bring about less grain in the process. Development practitioner, Paddington Ngadze, says for southern Africa, climate change is of highest economic importance as a high ratio of the population is employed in the agricultural sector, which contributes in the different member states between 4 percent and 27 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). “70 percent of people in southern Africa depend on agriculture f...

Lazarus Sauti Water, a finite and irreplaceable resource, notes the United Nations, is critical for sustainable development, including environmental integrity and the alleviation of poverty and hunger, and is indispensable for human health and well-being. In southern Africa, like most regions of the continent, water drives agriculture and mining: pillars or engines for growth, development and industrialisation. Because of this and other reasons, Namibian Minister of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, John Mutorwa, believes water is a central pillar to any development. This, according to him, means all productions processes in any country require it for social and economic transformation. As per Mutorwa’s voice, “Water is an engine for development, and it goes to follow also that a nation which is not water-secure and without having proper sanitation facilities will not be able to achieve the desired and high sustained level of economic development.” Seeing that c...

Lazarus Sauti Silas Sibanda, a beekeeper at Njanjanja village in Lupane, a district in Matabeleland North Province in Zimbabwe, enjoys a charming relationship with bees. In a colony of bees, the proud owner of 15 hives sees trusted partners, comforters as well as life transformers. “I am not formally employed; therefore, beekeeping is my full time job. It transformed my life and helped my family to escape the vistas of poverty. For instance, money for basic necessities as well as school fees for my grandchildren is no longer a problem because of this business of beekeeping,” he said. Interestingly, Sibanda’s romance with bees for the past five years is not unique as almost everyone in Lupane seems to have an attraction with bees. Sihle Khumalo, a passionate beekeeper in the area, also runs a thriving bee project. She boasts 10 hives with a single one, as per her voice, producing more than 25kg of honey after three to four months depending on weather and other c...

Lazarus Sauti Zimbabwe is not battling food famines only, but massive shortages of essential drugs at major provincial and district health institutions. The situation is putting the lives of citizens, mostly in rural areas, at risk as most – if not all – public health institutions in the country’s remote areas, for instance, are facing drug shortages. In fact, drug access and drug availability are major challenges at these health institutions. Itai Rusike, executive director of the Community Working Group on Health (CWGH), a network of civic or community based organisations that aim to collectively enhance community participation in health in Zimbabwe, concurs. “Drug supplies at rural health institutions are problematic and a constant source of client discontent seeing that the approximately 1 500 clinics in Zimbabwe are the last step in a long chain of drug procurement and distribution,” he said. Due to drug shortages, Zimbabweans, in both rural and urban are...

Lazarus Sauti Pretty Mhlanga, 35, a single mother of two children from Caledonia farm, is a worried woman. Her face and body weight shows that something is eating her from within, but sadly, she knows her enemy. “I am suffering from diabetes, and what worries me is I do not have money to buy medication or visit Ruwa Clinic which is the nearest one, but about 15 kilometres from my homestead,” she said. “To make my situation worse,” she adds, “My nearest clinic, just like me, does not have a device that can be used to screen my children who may be at risk of diabetes and hypertension. “I need more than US$100 for treatment, but I cannot afford that. What is competing with the disease in eating me is the fact that I don’t have anything that I can do to ensure that my children are screened as they may be at risk of diabetes,” added Mhlanga. She is not the only person suffering from the disease as over 1.4 million Zimbabweans are bearing the brunt of diabetes, accor...