THE Public Health Practitioners Association of Zimbabwe (PHPAZ) was on Friday launched following a resolution from the Public Health Symposium held last year to influence agenda setting on public health priorities in the country.
By Kuda Pembere
The association comprises of members from various fields such as environmental health, nutrition, law, pharmaceutical development, social science amongst other disciplines and intends to bond all stakeholders in the healthcare industry towards the common goal of improving health in the communities.
One of the primary objectives of this association is to promote disease prevention through education and awareness campaigns. The association will advocate for policies that promote access to quality healthcare services thereby promoting good health outcomes.
“Therefore we will work with policy makers at all levels of government, civil society, community-based organizations, private and public sector players among others to recommend policies and strategies towards health systems strengthening in Zimbabwe and beyond,” the PHPAZ secretary general Ms Tafadzwa Zhawari said.
She also said, “The public health practitioners association to match Zimbabwe with best practices in public health. World over, Public health is a multi-disciplinary field which involves various stakeholders in the public health value chains beyond classical medical scientists
The field of public health now recognize the importance of social scientists, journalists, economists, health promotion experts, statisticians to mention but a few. To this end, our association is a collaborative effort between healthcare professionals, policymakers, and community leaders who are committed to promoting public health and advocating for health systems strengthening in Zimbabwe and the region.”
The Association will collaborate with researchers to identify areas where research can be explored in the realm of public health.
“Public Health Practitioners Association of Zimbabwe recognizes the importance of research in advancing public. Therefore, the association will work with researchers and other stakeholders in the healthcare sector to identify areas where research can be conducted on public health issues. This research will help in developing evidence based policies that can improve public health outcomes for our population,” Ms Zhawari added.
The Association will be working with healthcare professionals, journalists, community health workers, environmentalists, nutritionists, statisticians, social scientists, health economists, religious and traditional leaders, organisations of persons with disabilities, policy makers, educationists, and community leaders for knowledge-sharing and identifying areas of collaboration to improve public health as a whole.
PHPAZ also seeks to promote local traditional medicines which can be tested scientifically for production and distribution amongst the public.
