Rich or poor, in Zimbabwe crumbling healthcare is deadly for all

Unable to fly out under lockdown, Zimbabwe’s wealthy must now take their chances in local hospitals alongside everyone else.

Harare, Zimbabwe – Twenty-three-year-old Gladys Marima has albinism and skin cancer. In December she had to leave her home in Harare, when her family kicked her out. Her cancer, which is linked to her albinism, had caused a deep, septic wound on her cheek that had become infected with maggots and, she says, her family could not tolerate the smell. Now she is staying with relatives in Chipinge, 400km from Harare. But she is unable to receive treatment because the two public hospitals which offer chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment in Zimbabwe – Parirenyatwa General Hospital in Harare and Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo – were forced to close these departments in January when the hospitals became overwhelmed with COVID patients.