Exploring COVID-19 preparedness and response effectiveness in Zimbabwe: A case of two public hospitals in Harare (January 2020 – June 2021)

Abstract

The study focused on the efforts made by the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) to prepare and mitigate towards the COVID-19 pandemic. A case study approach was employed focusing on two public hospitals, namely Parirenyatwa and Wilkins Hospitals in the city of Harare. A mixed research methods approach was used utilizing both quantitative and qualitative data. For the quantitative data, a questionnaire was used while interview guides were applied for the qualitative data . In terms of the number of study participants, 50 health personnel responded to the questionnaires while 21 health personnel hospital administrators were intereviewed including three key informants. . The study revealed that, the preparation efforts made by the MoHCC towards the pandemic were minimal and more could have been done to reduce the number of deaths. The implementation of the Zimbabwe Preparedness and Response Plan was said to be a little too late given the magnitude fatal nature of the COVID-19. Therefore, mitigation and preparedness stages were prompted in Zimbabwe well after the first case of the COVID-19 was detected in Harare. The major conclusion is that the MoHCC under-estimated the COVID-19 risk and burden to the overall health administration. Furthermore, the subsequent efforts beyond the initial reaction were effective due to the systematic approach adopted guided by the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.

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