DEPARTMENTS
ADMINISTRATION
EPIDEMIOLOGY AND DISEASE CONTROL
HOSPITAL EQUIPMENT AND MAINTANANCE
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
Mission
To prevent ill-health among the population of Zimbabwe through community education and regulatory mechanisms, to promote a healthy living and working environment, and to safeguard community health and quality of life.
Table of Contents
1. Commitments
2. Objectives
3. Environmental Public Health Inspectorate
4. Air Pollution Control Unit
5. Hazardous Substances and Articles Control Unit
6. Acts Administered by the Department
7. Membership to Standing Committees
8. Environmental Health Service Statistics (1997)
9. Further Information
1 . Commitments
All personnel in the department commit themselves to uphold the following values:
- a commitment to the department's mission
- a commitment to the promotion of public health
- a commitment to safeguard quality of life
- a belief in the preservation of the environment
- a commitment to partnerships and networking
- a belief in quality service
- a belief in integrity and creativity
- a belief in transparency
- a belief in innovation
- a belief in diligence and hands-on managerial application
- a provision of timeous, courteous and reliable service.
2 . Objectives
- To prevent the spread of communicable diseases in Zimbabwe through the participation of communities in the water and sanitation, nutrition, public health and disease control programmes.
- To prevent ill-health through the control of environmental factors which have a deleterious effect on health.
- To enforce environmental public health legislation
- To control the exposure of the community to dangerous chemicals and radio-active materials.
- To promote research into environmental public health issues.
Clientele:
Our clients are the general public, industry, parastatals, local authorities, the business community and sister government departments including the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, Zimbabwe Republic Police and Zimbabwe Prison Service.
The Department:
The department is headed by a Director and comprises three units: Environmental Health Inspectorate, Hazardous Substances and Articles Control, and Air Polution Control.
The department has Officers delivering the environmental public health service to the community at all levels: National, Provincial, District, Ward, Village and Household levels in rural areas and small towns. These Officers include: Environmental Health Officers, Environmental Health Technicians, Physicists, Analytical Chemists, Field Officers, Field and Health Orderlies. In addition, the department has a number of Project Officers who co-ordinate special donor programmes, e.g., Farm Health Worker Programme, Health and Hygiene Education, and Water and Sanitation Programmes.
3. Environmental Public Health Inspectorate
The Environmental Public Health Inspectorate Unit is headed by a Chief Environmental Health Officer who leads a team of environmental public health officers, technicians and project officers stationed at provincial, district and ward/village level as well as at ports of entry in Zimbabwe. These practitioners perform the following functions:
3 .1 Premises Inspections
EHTs and EHOs inspect schools, hospitals, mines, factories, trading premises and other public institutions to ensure that standards of hygiene are maintained and that public health regulations are complied with. Advice is also given to communities on construction of improved housing.
3 .2 Food Quality Monitoring
All food for sale to the public including food arriving from other countries to be sold in Zimbabwe is inspected to ascertain its quality. Food samples are also collected and submitted to the laboratory for analysis in order to determine its suitability and compliance with the law.
3 .3 Water Quality Monitoring
Sanitary inspections are conducted on drinking water sources and water samples are collected for analysis using field techniques and laboratory techniques. The chemical, bacteriological and aesthetic quality of all drinking water is ascertained through these inspections and sample analysis.
3 .4 Water and Sanitation Promotion
The environmental health inspectorate Unit represents the Ministry in the National Action Committee activities on water and sanitation. EHTs and EHOs provide technical know-how on the construction and maintenance of the Blair Ventilated Pit latrine and the upgraded shallow wells through participatory hygiene education and technical know-how. They train the builders and support community efforts in water and sanitation projects.
3 .5 Disease Prevention and Control
The Unit is responsible for investigating cases of infectious diseases and tracing contacts of these diseases. In this way the source of infection and possible number of people infected can be established. EHTs and EHOs are also responsible for disease epidemic preparedness and control and for the infectious disease control programme, e.g., tuberculosis, malaria, schistosomiasis, plague¸anthrax, etc. They also establish and maintain disease surveillance structures like sentinel sites.
3 .6 Port Health Activities
The Unit has EHTs and EHOs stationed at all designated international airports and frontier posts to inspect vaccination certificates, imported foodstuffs and chemicals. They also inspect public premises at the ports of entry to ensure that public health nuisances are prevented or dealt with appropriately. They also process the clearance of bodies of Zimbabweans who die in foreign countries and return home for burial.
3 .7 Public Health Legislation
To protect the citizens of Zimbabwe and visitors to Zimbabwe, members of the Environmental Public Health Inspectorate Unit (EHTs and EHOs) enforce the provisions of all the Public Health Laws relating to environmental pollution, food quality and food standards, air pollution and hazardous substances. They also review the laws regularly to bring them in line with prevailing situation.
3 .8 Health and Hygiene Education
Through the use of participatory and other health education techniques EHOs and EHTs counsel members of the public and influence voluntary change to positive behaviour, attitudes and practices on health issues. In this regard the unit provides education on disease prevention, nutrition, food hygiene and food safety, personal and general hygiene, and on waste disposal. The health and hygiene service is provided in all contacts that the Unit makes with the community.
3 .9 Interaction with External Agencies
The Unit interacts with the following organizations in the implementation of its programmes:
- UNICEF
- WHO
- DANIDA
- NORAD
- SIDA
- Save the Children Fund (UK)
- Mvuramanzi Trust
- Farm Community Trust of Zimbabwe
- Plan International
- SNV (Dutch)
- GTZ (German)
- KFW (German)
- JICA (Japan)
- Institute of Water and Sanitation Development
- Blair Research Institute
- Government Analyst Laboratory
- National Action Committee on Water and Sanitation
4. Air Pollution Control Unit
The Air Pollution Control Unit is headed by an Air Pollution Control Officer who works with Air Pollution Control Inspectors to execute the following duties:
- Examining plans and proposals for new specified process and for extensions to existing works.
- Advising industry on abatement technologies of air pollution from all specified processes.
- Carrying out routine systematic visits to industries for the inspection of abatement equipment on its operation and maintenance.
- Creating an awareness of air pollution problems in industry by regular consultation with the public.
- Advising and assisting Local Authorities in the implementation of smoke control regulations within their areas of jurisdiction.
- Engaging in isokinetic stack emission sampling of emissions from specified processes throughout the country.
- Enforce the provisions of the Atmospheric Pollution Prevention Act.
5. Hazardous Substances and Articles Control Unit
The Hazardous Substances and Articles Unit is headed by the Hazardous Substances and Articles Control officer who leads a team of analytical chemists and physicists in dealing with chemical safety issues and Radiation Safety issues. The Hazardous Substances and Articles Control Unit executes the following duties:
- Promulgate and enforce criteria and standards for the safe use of chemicals and ionising radiation producing substances and articles.
- Review and assessment of toxicological packages for pesticides and other chemicals before registration by the Ministry of Agriculture.
- Perform technology assessment, compliance tests, inspections in loco, etc, to ensure safe, cost-effective and efficacious use of radiation sources and chemicals in compliance with regulations.
- Issue licenses and authorities for the import, manufacture, use and disposal of radiation sources, radiation premises, suppliers of pesticides and pest control operators.
- Monitor radiation doses received by all radiation workers, plus issuing of licenses to all radiation workers and registration of the ionising radiation producing equipment.
- Keep up-to-date inventories of all radiation workers; x-ray equipment; sealed radiation sources; Groups II hazardous substances suppliers.
- Drafting of regulations under the Hazardous Substances and Articles Act.
- Liaison with international organisations (International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), International Register of Potentially Toxic Chemicals (IRPTC), International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS), etc) in order to compile guidelines, codes of practice, inspection procedures, dosimetry protocols and information brochures.
- Collect, evaluate and disseminate relevant literature and information on chemical safety and radiation safety.
- Provide technical assistance, advice, training, on a national basis to the public industry and government.
- Review tender specifications of radiation detection equipment and dosimeter readers.
- Developing public awareness programmes on emergency preparedness and disaster prevention.
6. Major Acts
Acts administered and enforced by the Department include:
- Public Health Act and its regulations
- Food and Food Standards Act and its regulations
- Atmospheric Pollution Prevention and Control Act, and its regulations
- Hazardous Substances and Articles Act and its regulations
Acts enforced in part by the Department on Issues pertaining to environmental public health include:
- Liquor Act
- Shop Licences Act
- Regional, Town and Country Planning Act
- Dairy Act
- Water Act
- Housing and Housing Standards Act
- Cemeteries Act
- Burial and Cremation Act
- Rural District Council Act
- Children's Protection and Adoption Act
- Factories and Works Act
- Model Building By Laws
- Education Act
- Inland Waters Act
7. Membership to Standing Committees
The department is a permanent member in the following committees:
- National Action Committee for Water and Sanitation programmes
- Occupational Health and Safety Committee
- Interministerial Committee on Zoonoses Control
- Interministerial Committee on Chemical Safety
- Environmental Pollution Control Committee
- Tuberculosis Expert Committee
- National Goitre Control Committee
- National Advisory Committee on Farm Health
- Taskforce on disease Control and stock theft
- National Civil Protection Committee
- Interministerial Committee on Squatter Control
- Expert Committee on Malaria Control
- National Coordination Committee on Emergency Preparedness and Response.
- Health Committee on State Occasions
- National Committee on Codex Alimentarius
- National Committee on Injury Control
- Human Resources Development Committee
- Interministerial Committee on Trypanosomiasis Control
- Health Officers Forum
- Food Standards Advisory Board
- Food Standards Board Committee on Food Hygiene
- Food Standards Board Labelling, Packaging and Advertisement.
- Food Standards Board Committee on Food Commodities
- Food Standards Board Committee on Import, export, inspection and certification.
- Food Standards Board Committee on sampling and methods of analysis
- Food Standards Board Committee on Chemical Substances in Food
- Food Standards Board Committee on Nutrition
- Water Pollution Control Advisory Board
- Air Pollution Control Advisory Board
- Hazardous Substances and Articles Control Advisory Board
- Interministerial Committee on Capacity Building
- Radiation Protection Committee
- Food Irradiation Committee
- Pesticides and Veterinary Remedies Committee
- Planning Pool Meeting
- Health Promotion Committee
- Poverty Alleviation Committee
- Water Resources Management Committee
- Rain Water Harvesting Committee
- Housing Standards Task Force
- Health Professions Council Environmental Health Education and Liaison Committee.
8. Environmental Health Service Statistics (1997)
| Staffing Levels | |
| Government Environmental Health Officers Government Environmental Health Technicians Hazardous Substances Control Staff Atmospheric Pollution Control Staff |
73 806 4 2 |
Total |
885 |
| Human Resource Development | |
| Number of Courses Attended by Staff | 77 |
| Disease Control Activities | |
| Total Number of Case of Suspected Infectious Diseases Total Number of Cases of Infectious Diseases Followed-up Structures Sprayed Against Mosquitoes (Anti-Malaria Programme) Average Spraying Percentage Coverage |
63821 18283 1024220 91% |
| Food Quality Control Programme | |
| Meat Animal Carcases Inspected Meat Animal Carcases Condemned (i.e., not fit for human consumption) |
28447 1459 |
| Air Quality Monitoring | |
| Premises Carrying out Specified Processes Inspected Premises Found Polluting the Atmosphere Percentage of Unsatisfactory Premises Average Nitrogen Oxide Levels (Harare City)
|
36 25 69.4%
|
| Water and Sanitation Coverage (Rural) | |
| Water Supply Coverage (provision of safe water supplies) Provision of Toilet Facilities |
80% 33% |
| Acting Director Environmental Health Services email: Mr G. Chaumba Tel.: +263-4-728013; 730011/9 Fax: +263-4-728013 |
Chief Environmental Health Officer |
| Hazardous Substances and Articles Control Officer email: Mr G. A. Mangwiro Tel.: +263-4-793095; 730011/9 Fax: +263-4-728013 |
Air Pollution Control Officer |