Government screens over 99k returnees, sets up clinic at Beitbridge

THE Government has ramped up health screening for thousands of Zimbabweans returning from South Africa, with more than 99 000 returnees processed so far and a dedicated clinic established at the Beitbridge Border Post to ensure continuity of care for those with chronic illnesses.
Speaking to Parliament on Wednesday, the Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr Douglas Mombeshora said the initiative comes as Zimbabwe continues to receive large numbers of citizens following migration-related developments in South Africa.

Dr Mombeshora said health workers have been deployed to all ports of entry to screen every returnee, including those using illegal entry points, to prevent the spread of communicable diseases.
“We have got huge numbers of returnees from South Africa, some passing through legal ways and others through illegal pathways. We have put in place our health workers at the ports of entry to make sure that every returnee is being screened, from adults to children. So far, we have screened over 99 000 Zimbabweans, but we are also screening returnees to Malawi and Zambia to make sure that no communicable disease passes through,” said Dr Mombeshora.

Of particular concern are those living with HIV, diabetes and hypertension.
The Minister acknowledged that many returnees left their medication behind in South Africa as they fled to safety.
To address this, a clinic has been set up at the border to provide treatment for up to five days.

“However, where we are dealing with those living with HIV and on ART treatment, we are also interrogating every returnee whether they are on any chronic illnesses, specifically HIV, diabetes and hypertension. Some of the returnees will tell you that they have been on treatment, but when they left, they also left some of their treatments. We have put in place a mechanism.

“We have a clinic that has been set up there, where we can provide treatment for at least five days, because we want all those returnees to go to the respective areas where they are staying so that they can be registered in the districts where they will be staying and they will start receiving their treatment on a long-term basis,” he said.

Long-term treatment cannot be initiated immediately at the port of entry due to the need for baseline tests such as viral load testing.
“We are not able to institute long-term treatment on their arrival because we need to first take baseline tests, like viral load and things like that which cannot be done at the port of entry at the moment. We have put in place those mechanisms to ensure that no one who has been on any treatment will have their treatment interrupted, but that continuous treatment can be instituted wherever they will be staying,” the Minister added.

The Government has assured returning citizens of continued support to ensure their smooth reintegration into communities.