Zimbabwe – Howard Hospital

Zimbabwe, a country in crisis...

Zimbabwe has been hit by drought, HIV/AIDS and an economic meltdown that have contributed to a humanitarian disaster.

• 45 per cent of the population suffers from malnourishment
• almost 600,000 people are homeless
• 83 per cent of people live on less than $2 a day
• life expectancy is the lowest in the world, 36 years, down from 60 years in 1990
• inflation is estimated at 100,000 per cent
• 1.3 million people are living with HIV/AIDS
• another acute drought this year has worsened an already critical situation
• the country suffers shortages of food, medicine, water, power and fuel

In the context of this worsening crisis, Howard Hospital continues to provide quality care to the poverty-stricken population of 35 surrounding villages.

Howard Hospital

Founded in 1923, Howard Hospital is a Salvation Army institution situated in the Chiweshe communal land of rural Zimbabwe. Eighty kilometres north of the capital of Harare, the hospital is the referral centre for the Mazowe district of Mashonaland Central Province and has a catchment of greater than 270,000 people.

A variety of medical and social services are provided for all ages, from the newborn to the elderly and terminally ill. There is an operating theatre, pharmacy, laboratory, and facilities for x-ray, ultrasound and rehabilitation. The in-patient and out-patient departments receive 115,000 patients a year. Eighty percent of patients are women and children, from obstetrics services, the under-5 clinic, and HIV treatment and care. Two thirds of HIV/AIDS services are provided to women.

The hospital provides the following services to the community :

• comprehensive primary, medical and surgical care
• counselling services
• HIV/AIDS and TB treatment center
• nutritional supplementation
• agricultural assistance and education
• child sponsorship
• community education programs

With the current economic and political climate in Zimbabwe, there are extreme challenges in providing health care services to the community, especially the requirement for general medical and surgical supplies. According to Dr. Paul Thistle, chief medical officer, many pharmaceutical companies have left Zimbabwe so most medical supplies must now be imported at costs unaffordable to the hospital and its impoverished clientele.

Howard Hospital in the news

Howard Hospital made the news in Canada in 2005 when conjoined twins were brought to the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto to be separated. The twins, Tinasha and Tinotenda, were born at Howard under Dr. Thistle’s supervision in July, 2004, were separated in Toronto in March 2005, and returned home with their mother on their first birthday. The story of the surgery and of their reintegration into their community were the subjects of feature reports on CBC’s W5 as well as garnering national media coverage, especially at the time of the surgery.

According to Dr. Thistle who ensures follow-up care, the twins are progressing well.

HPIC’s history with Howard Hospital

HPIC has been supporting the work of Dr. Thistle at the Howard Hospital since 2003, providing desperately needed medicines and supplies through NGO partners and Canadian physicians who travel to Howard for short term medical missions. An increasing number of doctors are responding to Dr. Thistle’s call for help, and giving their time to support the provision of essential health services at Howard Hospital. When volunteers travel to Zimbabwe from Canada, they carry with them the most urgently needed medicines and supplies, requested of HPIC by Dr. Thistle.

HPIC’s current project with Howard Hospital

HPIC is now responding to the ongoing and escalating emergency in Zimbabwe by sending a large shipment of medicine, medical supplies and equipment, as requested by Dr. Thistle, in June 2008.

Dr. Thistle writes, “The donation of general medical and surgical supplies from HPIC will go a long way to bridge the gaps in the provision of basic health care services at Howard Hospital to all people in all community irrespective of race, religion, class or financial position. The basic support for medical treatment will allow our hospital to be a beacon of hope in a very difficult environment.”