The Sunday Mail
Emmanuel Kafe —
“Faulty gear boxes and blown out fuses, I can fix them all!”
This is only one of the euphemism used to describe sexual problems as entrepreneurial street ‘doctors’ in Harare boost of their skills. Bottles of brownish and greenish liquid mixed with tree roots and leaves are strewn on most pavements downtown.
Sachets of various tablets, anti-biotics and other medical drugs are also on display on makeshift stalls.
“Everything is for a dollar here, come and grab yours!” The street doctors shout.
Sangomas have also come to town. Illegal makeshift ‘pharmacies’ that are run by untrained self-proclaimed doctors are found at every corner of Harare’s streets, dispensing medicines to the public.
On the other side, the sangomas are claiming that the concoctions they are selling can treat almost every disease. From sexual problems to HIV and Aids, they have all the curing roots.
A man only identified as Mushure sells his traditional drugs along Selous Ave in the capital.He boosts that he has products to cure every disease.
Mushure said he has a gift from God and dismissed claims that he is a sangoma. Another man who preferred anonymity made similar claims.
“Even HIV can go my brother,” he said.
Across the road, a lady is selling family planning pills and some anti-biotics that are exposed to direct sunlight. Baines Ave Clinic doctor Shingai Murahwa urged the general public to desist from taking medicines that are exposed to direct heat and sunlight saying they will have negative effects on them.
Interestingly, birth control pills can be accessed for free in local clinics; and yet they are for sale on Harare’s streets. What could not be ascertained is whether the pills were genuine and if they were not yet beyond their expiry date.
The Sunday Mail Extra gathered information on how some of the drugs are landing in Zimbabwe. Mushure said some of the roots and leaves are from Mozambique and some from mountains in Buhera.
“Haulage drivers help us in smuggling these medicines into the country,” said Mushure.
A lady who preferred anonymity said the medicines are smuggled from Zambia.
“We get into the country with these medicines through the help of security details at the border post,” she alleged.
The Sunday Mail Extra also gathered that vendors who travel to Zambia and Mozambique to buy the medicines are enjoying brisk business. However, the illegal and counterfeit drugs are a health hazard.
“The patients do not have to worry about the doctor’s prescription,” said another street doctor along Charter Street.
“We give prescriptions because we know what we are doing. We were once medical practitioners,” she said, claiming that she used to be a nurse.
The lady claimed that a local clinic provides her with family planning pills. This publication spoke to a man who has had a continuous erection ever since the day he used a concortion that was supposed to enlarge his manhood.
“I have known no peace since the day I rubbed the leaves on my manhood, it’s been two months now and it’s painful,” he said.
Another victim is a heavily pregnant woman who bought family planning pills on the streets.
“I got pregnant after using expired pills I had bought from someone who used to supply me all the time,” she said.
Asked why she prefers street medicine to those offered for free in hospitals, the lady cited long queues.
The rise of street sangomas and doctors has been attributed to the lack of adequate medical supplies in hospitals.
This has hugely affected people with chronic illnesses, including those living with HIV and Aids which develops resistance when one stops taking their prescribed medication.
The possibility of being overdosed on the streets is very high. The Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe is mandated to safeguard public health by ensuring that medicines and medical devices that are on the market are safe, effective and of good quality.
The Sunday Mail Extra tried to get a comment from the association’s spokesperson Mr Richard Rukwata but he was reported to be busy and questions e-mailed to him had not been responded to by the time of going to print.
He is on record saying it is illegal to distribute medicine without authorisation from the authority. Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers Association president, Mr George Kandiero said they issue licenses to their practitioners.
He said some individuals are tarnishing the association’s image by conducting illegal treatments.
“These people are masquerading as traditional healers and doing their business on unhygienic areas and this is giving us a bad image as an organisation,” said Mr Kandiero
“We have specific areas where these medicines should be sold and not in the streets,” he said.
However, Mr Kandiero said the Ministry of Health and Child Care has come up with the Traditional Medicines Practitioners Council that will deal with bogus traditional healers.
