Africanews
As the Aids epidemic takes its toll among Zimbabweans, it has become increasingly hard for the ordinary man to afford the cost of burying their dead, making coffin production the fastest growing and the most viable informal sector business. |
The Scenario in this Southern African nation has been worsened by the declining health system. The health sector is in a real crisis, patients have had to be turned away from clinics and hospitals because of shortage of drugs leaving the sick to be nursed at home until death.
Coffin making enterprises have mushroomed in every township in a bid to meet the demand for this product whose demand has soared as a result of these deaths. The informal sector has grown largely due to World Bank induced retrenchments and many victims were quick to pounce on this business which seems to be the only viable form of enterprise.
The Ministry of Health said recently that about 300 deaths per week in Zimbabwe were caused by Aids. And it is estimated by the Aids Control Programme that about 10 per cent of the population has HIV, the virus that causes Aids. According to the World Health Organisation, Zimbabwe and the rest of Sub Saharan Africa lie in the worst HIV affected region in the world. Health experts in Harare say that Zimbabwe has of late recorded the highest number of Aids fatalities. Some 1650 people died of the disease in the capital alone last year, showing an increase of eight per cent compared to the previous year. This shows Aids was the number one killer disease and the sole reason for the upsurge in coffin demand.
The proprietor of S and K funeral Services, Mr Linos Mutasa, whose concern is a product of World Bank induced privatisation said he charged Z$400 for the cheapest coffin. The most expensive is Z$600, well within everyman's buying means.
Mr. Mutasa also confirmed that over the years the demand for coffins had risen
mainly because of what he thought was a high death rate.
Those who attended the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair, an annual industrial
showcase were stunned when for the first time in the history of the fair and
against tradition, a Harare company, Woodman, had coffins on display.
It is now commonplace to hear people say it is better to die now when people
can still afford a decent burial.
The inability by many to pay medical expenses had grounded the Ministry of Health and Child welfare, which is now hit by severe shortage of drugs, food and equipment.
The Ministry of Health has suspended food in some of its centres severely disadvantaging patients. It is owed about Z$100 million by patients many of whom can no longer afford the World Bank imposed charges. People are dying silently in their homes because they cannot manage to buy drugs from pharmacies or private outlets which are expensive.
Whilst those who can not afford the charges are supposed to be paid for by the government sponsored Social Dimensions Fund, the government has failed to adequately reimburse the local authorities through that system.
"The government only reimburse 20 percent for all patients and local authorities (municipals) have to meet the rest. This has affected the delivery of the health system,": a health official said.
It is this appalling health system and the Aids epidemic that has caused a rise in deaths in this country. As more and more people die at home either because of the dysfunctioning health service or the inability to pay medical bills, a market has been created for the emergent businessman and business is booming.
"It is more formality to go to hospital these days", says Mr Basil Muchedzi, a TB patient in Chitungwitza, "because you will only receive two of the prescribed medications, out of the five you may have been recommended.
Only a month ago, a local weekly reported that because of prohibitive user fees mainly in urban areas, some urban residents had resorted to seeking medical aid in much cheaper rural areas. But the situation is not any better in those areas.
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