- ZADHR says Zimbabwe lags behind in meeting testing, health infrastructure reviews
- Series of measures to cushion the economic effects of the lockdown should be introduced
THE Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) on Monday criticised government for its lack of evidence-based decision-making that informed its recent extension of the national lockdown.
According to ZADHR, the absence of epidemiological evidence on the true distribution of COVID-19 in Zimbabwe made it difficult to ascertain the basis for the lockdown extension.
In a statement, ZADHR said the lockdown should not be used as a political weapon to infringe on the citizens’ rights.
“ZADHR stands out clear that the lockdown must not be extended as a cover-up to curtail people’s civil and political rights”, read the statement.
In the view of the doctors, the lockdown period should only be extended if evidence showed that Zimbabwe had not yet met the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s criteria of lifting the restrictions.
According to the COVID-19 Monitoring and Advocacy Report by ZADHR,
government had shown a lethargic approach towards conducting widespread Polymerase Chain Reaction diagnostic tests for the pandemic.
“Lockdown extension must be benchmarked on clear targets and have a defined timeframe.
“Such must always be complimented by support for vulnerable populations,” ZADHR noted.
The human rights organisation also noted that there was little attention being paid towards ensuring that the lockdown would not exacerbate the socio-economic vulnerabilities on Zimbabweans.
Further, the organisation also noted with concern the poor state of affairs in the quarantine facilities.
They demanded that quarantine facilities be urgently upgraded to meet the minimum standards as demanded by WHO.