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Dr Timothy Stamps

Auxilia Katongomara, Chronicle Reporter
THE late Health Advisor to the President and Cabinet, Dr Timothy Stamps, has been declared a national hero.

Dr Stamps succumbed to a lung infection on Sunday afternoon at Borrowdale Trauma Centre in Harare.

He was 81.

Zanu-PF Secretary for Information, Cde Simon Khaya Moyo said Dr Stamps had been honoured for his development to the country’s health sector.

“The President declared the hero’s status for Dr Stamps after the Politburo had unanimously recommended that be declared a national hero. The Politburo met after Zanu-PF Harare Province forwarded a request to have Dr Stamps declared a national hero,” said Cde Moyo.

He said burial date would be announced in due course as the family was consulting over the issue.

Dr Stamps is the first national hero whose burial would be officiated by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

The former Minister of Health and Child Care was born in Wales and came to Zimbabwe in 1968.

He grew up in England where he became one of the youngest doctors in the United Kingdom at that time.

Before Independence, he worked for the then Salisbury (now Harare) Municipality’s health department, where he rose to become the chief medical officer.

During his stint, he attempted to give blacks access to health facilities, much to the chagrin of the Rhodesian authorities.

Dr Stamps served as Minister of Health from 1990 to 2002. He is credited for playing a pivotal role in championing the fight against HIV and Aids, a role he bravely took up after taking over from Dr Felix Muchemwa in 1990.

Most notably, in 1999 he led an initiative to prevent mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV.

His efforts, together with the support of Ministry of Health and Child Care officials, saw the creation of the National Aids Council (NAC) in 1999, through an Act of Parliament.

The establishment of the Aids Levy, whereby companies and the formally employed are taxed three percent of their taxable income, also illustrated Government’s commitment to tackle the scourge head-on.

In 2004, Dr Stamps founded the Dr Timothy Stamps Trust for people living with chronic conditions after being touched by the plight of people living with such diseases. It also helped to ease the burden of non-communicable diseases in the country.

Dr Stamps also advocated for the development of a policy that rehabilitates and treats drug addicts instead of incarcerating them.

The Ministry of Health and Child Care said the country had lost a hero who contributed immensely to the development of the health sector.

@AuxiliaK