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Gen Chiwenga

Leonard Ncube and Adelaide Moyo,Chronicle Reporters
THE Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) is planning to construct a tertiary military health facility to promote research and health studies within the defence forces.

The Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, General Constantino Chiwenga, told the 6th Zimbabwe Uniformed Forces Health Services conference in Victoria Falls that security organisations are grappling with challenges that threaten to derail planned and incidental activities in research and technology.

The three-day conference, which started on Wednesday, ends today, and brings together health experts, policy makers and security forces from across the African continent to exchange ideas. The conference seeks to create an environment conducive for scientific dialogue in the security sector in Africa.

In his keynote speech, Gen Chiwenga said the research institute will be fully fledged as a college of health sciences.

“The research institute will be mandated to conduct both human and animal health research among other aspects,” he said.

Gen Chiwenga said a tertiary military health facility with a teaching arm will be constructed.

“We are also in the process of establishing the college of health for the uniformed forces of Zimbabwe which will be tasked with research and awarding of continuing medical education. To this end, plans are underway to bring to fruition our research vision through collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Child Care, the Medical Research Council of Zimbabwe and other key stakeholders,” he said.

Gen Chiwenga called for efforts to fight both HIV and Aids and non-communicable diseases saying there is a need for harmonising and operationalising regional frameworks for responding to such challenges.

“I call your attention to these epidemiological trends not to alarm you but as a sobering reminder of the immense burden we are all faced with in our continent. We need to move away from merely talking to more meaningful dynamic approaches and research by recognising that non-communicable diseases are a crisis,” he said.

Gen Chiwenga said people can simply prevent non-communicable diseases through lifestyle changes such as effective routine physical exercise, dietary management and avoidance of active or passive tobacco smoking, early health seeking behaviour and routine health screening.

At the conference, there are exhibitions on various health tips.

Speaking at the same occasion, National Aids Council chief executive officer Dr Tapuwa Magure said the country has made great progress by reducing HIV prevalence to 14 percent.

Brigadier General Clifford Brown Wanda from the Nigerian Defence Forces said while the prevalence of HIV was going down on the continent, there was still a need to cover some gaps through concerted efforts by all partners.

Lieutenant Colonel Ahmed Mandour of Egypt Defence Forces concurred saying the continent should be wary of the increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases.

@ncubeleon