BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI 

Doctor Fungai Musinami, Hange district medical officer, revealed in an interview that Victoria Falls Hospital is not adequately equipped to address mental health issues.

“We do not have a dedicated mental health facility infrastructure or even a drug or substance abuse rehabilitation at the moment,” she said. “But there are projects that are ongoing to try and establish something within the city.”

Despite these challenges, Musinami emphasized that the government is working to prioritize mental health and address the interconnected issue of drug and substance abuse.

“We are working together with drug and substance abuse because these two go together,” she explained.

However, the situation in the whole province is dire.

Out of all the seven district hospitals, none has a facility to handle mental health issues, instead, patients are referred to other institutions in Bulawayo or further.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Zimbabwe has one of the highest suicide rates in Africa, with 18.4 suicides per 100 000 people.

The WHO notes that mental health issues are often stigmatized in Zimbabwean culture, leading to a lack of seeking help and support.

In the background, Zimbabwe is grappling with a mental health crisis, exacerbated by social and economic factors such as poverty, unemployment, and trauma. Research has shown that these factors contribute significantly to mental health problems in Zimbabwe.

Musinami emphasized that community-based initiatives like the Friendship Bench are making a difference.

“We have trained community health workers for support of mental health,” she said.

“We are looking at scaling that up in the days to come, so that within your wards in the communities, there will be someone trained to do counseling through the Friendship Bench model.”

As Musinami noted that lot of people that end up committing suicide will give hints along the way.

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI 

Residents of Mkhosana in Victoria Falls are living in fear as a large herd of buffaloes continues to invade their communities, destroying vegetable gardens and posing a threat to human life.

https://x.com/Vic_Falls_Live/status/1853724332553314445/video/1

According to eyewitnesses, the buffaloes, estimated to be around 30-40, have been encroaching into the communities since June, with some residents reporting that they have been vandalizing their gardens as early as 8 PM.

David Mpofu

David Mpofu, a resident of Mkhosana, expressed his concern, saying, “We are living in fear because these buffaloes come every day, destroying our vegetable gardens. We want the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority rangers to take action and chase them away.”

Trymore Ndolo

The Victoria Falls Combined Residents Association member, Trymore Ndolo, who was also at the scene on Monday night close to the CBZ houses, expressed frustration, stating that the buffaloes are becoming a menace and encroaching into high-density residential areas.

The issue of human-wildlife conflict is escalating due to the ongoing drought, with elephants also encroaching into communities in search of water and food.

Residents are crying foul as their source of food is being destroyed.

Last week, a large herd of buffaloes even invaded the Victoria Falls City Council water works premises, taking security guards by surprise and forcing them to hide.

In Mkhosana, the  buffaloes refused to budge until Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority officials arrived and chased them away.

Residents are calling for urgent action to address the situation and ensure their safety and security.

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI 

An underground coal mine fire has broken out at the Zimbali mine at M3 Block, close to Madumabisa, Village 2 and 5 in Hwange.

According to a resident, Rejoice Ndlovu, the blaze is believed to have started due to exposed coal on the surface and has been raging for several hours.

Firefighters from the Hwange Local Board and other emergency services are on the scene, but their efforts to contain the fire have so far been unsuccessful.

Residents nearby have been advised to take precautionary measures to ensure their safety.

Councillor Brian Chikumbo from Ingagula has raised concerns about the lack of transparency surrounding the incident.

“We only heard about the fire through word of mouth after we saw some smokes in the morning,” he said.

“There has been no official communication from the mine operators to alert the communities or provide information about the situation.”

Chikumbo expressed fears about the potential health risks to nearby communities, particularly the spread of tuberculosis (TB) and injuries from underground coal fires.

Historically, many children have been injured by seamless coal fires in this area.

The Zimbali coal mine is operated by Chinese investors, and Chikumbo criticized the lack of transparency and accountability.

WATCH|

https://x.com/vic_falls_live/status/1852375255530016841?s=46

https://x.com/vic_falls_live/status/1852344680001757419?s=46

More to follow…