The COVID-19 - Health Systems Nexus: Emerging Trends, Issues and Dynamics in Zimbabwe

ISBN-13: 9783031216015 / Angielski / Twarda / 2023 / 304 str.

Lazarus Chapungu; David Chikodzi; Kaitano Dube

Opis

This contributed volume, based on papers presented at a conference held in Zimbabwe in mid-2021, examines the nexus between Zimbabwe’s health systems and the COVID-19 pandemic. The collection of papers contained here is diverse and covers topics from how health systems handled (or didn’t handle) surges to health communication during a global pandemic to economic and environmental impacts of the pandemic in Zimbabwe. Editors Drs. Edward Kunonga, Lazarus Chapungu, and David Chikodzi set the stage for these pieces with an introductory chapter that describes the health systems in Zimbabwe and offers an overview of the effects of the pandemic felt in the country. Their concluding chapter synthesizes trends and issues emerging from the chapters and recommends policy directions regarding health management systems in Zimbabwe and elsewhere in the face of this and future pandemics.

Spis treści

Introduction

1.     Introduction: The COVID-19-Health Nexus: Trends and Dynamics

Health system dynamics in a COVID-19 environment 2.     COVID-19 pandemic in Zimbabwe: A spatial and temporal perspective

3.     Public Safety and Health Systems in the Context of Covid-19 in Zimbabwe: Gaps and Prospects

4.     Devolution as Health Governance Paradigm Amidst the Covid-19 Pandemic in Zimbabwe: Convergences and Divergences

5.     Global Covid-19 Pandemic: A strategic opportunity of operationalizing One Health Concept Case of Zimbabwe

6.     An analysis of the dynamics of COVID-19 pandemic using the SIER Model with uncertain parameters characterized by a Stochastic Susceptible Population

7.     Indigenous health practices and lifestyles: Can they help Zimbabwe transform its health systems in the face of Covid-19 pandemic?       

8.     Virtual communities in supporting access to health services during COVID-19 pandemic: The Implications and Impacts on Zimbabwe’s health system

COVID-19 restrictive measures and related impacts

9.     Decongesting global cities as part of Health Reform in the era of COVID-19: Impacts and implications for Zimbabwe

10.  Deciphering Synergies and tradeoffs between COVID-19 measures and the progress towards SDG 15: Implications on health systems in Zimbabwe

11.  The Impact of COVID-19 on Economic Development in Zimbabwe and the health management system.

Vaccine uptake and diplomacy

12.  COVID-19 vaccination apathy, hesitancy and neutrality. Interrogating the trends and impacts on Zimbabwe’s health delivery system

13.  The complexities of public health communication on COVID-19 vaccination in social media. Implications on Zimbabwe’s health system.

14.  COVID-19 vaccine diplomacy: Tracking the Chinese, Indian and Russian global pathways and undertones

Conclusion

15.   Conclusions: Emerging trends, issues and policy implications

O autorze

Lazarus Chapungu (Editor-in-Chief) is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Institute for Corporate Citizenship, UNISA. He has worked as a senior lecturer and research chair in the Department of Physics, Geography and Environmental Science at Great Zimbabwe University. He served as a chapter scientist in the 6^th Assessment Report (AR6) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Working Group III Chapter 2. His research interests are in contemporary environmental issues, climate change, sustainable development and biodiversity. 

David Chikodzi (Co-Editor) is a Post-doctoral research fellow in the Exxaro Chair in Business and Climate Change at the University of South Africa. He holds a PhD in Geography and Environment Science from the University of the Western Cape (South Africa), Masters’ degree in Environmental Policy and Planning, as well as a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Degree in Geography from the University of Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe). 

Kaitano Dube (Co-Editor) is an Associate Professor of Tourism Geography at Vaal University of Technology. He is a National Research of Foundation Y2-rated researcher who has researched and widely published (books and journal articles) on climate change, tourism, aviation, COVID-19 and sustainability. He is currently an editor of Tourism Geographies and Associate Editor of Frontiers in Sustainable Tourism. He holds a PhD in Environmental Management and an MSc in Geography from the University of South Africa. He graduated with Hons BSc from Midlands State University.

Blurb

This contributed volume presents a collection of empirical studies examining how the COVID-19 pandemic interacted with and impacted Zimbabwe’s health sector. Zimbabwe was hit particularly hard by the pandemic, with a case fatality ratio that fluctuated but reached as high as 9.90% in late June, 2021. COVID-19 exposed and highlighted a plethora of structural weaknesses in the country, including an incapacitated health management system. The studies presented in the book show that the pandemic disrupted the preventative, curative and rehabilitative services within Zimbabwe’s health sector. This has impacted and will likely continue to impact population health outcomes and further exacerbate the issues that previously existed in a very fragile healthcare system that was struggling to cope with its disease burden even before the pandemic. 

The book contributes to an emerging literature profiling how health systems manage (or fail to manage) global pandemics. It aims to be a distinctive source of information toward  the implementation of practical solutions to problems associated with COVID-19. The volume takes a multidisciplinary approach toward practical, policy-oriented strategies to tackle the pandemic and confront our “new normal.” The studies presented here will be useful to anyone interested in the mitigation, containment and ultimately preemption of the emergence of future pandemics.