The COVID-19 - Health Systems Nexus

Book excerpt: This contributed volume, based on papers presented at a conference held in Zimbabwe in mid-2021, examines the nexus between Zimbabwe’s health systems and the COVID-19 pandemic. The collection of papers contained here is diverse and covers topics from how health systems handled (or didn’t handle) surges to health communication during a global pandemic to economic and environmental impacts of the pandemic in Zimbabwe. Editors Drs. Edward Kunonga, Lazarus Chapungu, and David Chikodzi set the stage for these pieces with an introductory chapter that describes the health systems in Zimbabwe and offers an overview of the effects of the pandemic felt in the country. Their concluding chapter synthesizes trends and issues emerging from the chapters and recommends policy directions regarding health management systems in Zimbabwe and elsewhere in the face of this and future pandemics.