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Dr Stamps' hero status to be decided

by Staff reporter
28 Nov 2017 at 05:01hrs | Views
ZANU-PF has said it will be guided by recommendations coming from the Office of the President and Cabinet on the hero status of the late Health Advisor to the President and Cabinet Dr Timothy Stamps.

Dr Stamps, a former Minister of Health and Child Care, succumbed to a lung infection on Sunday afternoon at Borrowdale Trauma Centre in Harare.
He was 81.

Zanu-PF Secretary for Information and Publicity Simon Khaya Moyo said the party awaits to hear from the OPC.

"As a party we cannot take the lead in discussing the hero status because Dr Stamps was Health Advisor to the President and Cabinet. It would be proper to hear what the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet has to say," said Moyo.

He said the Chief Secretary, Dr Misheck Sibanda, was yesterday busy with Presidential briefings, hence funeral arrangements would be announced when there has been communication between the party and the OPC.

Before independence, Dr Stamps worked for the then Salisbury (now Harare) Municipality's health department and he rose to become the chief medical officer for the city.

During his stint, he attempted to give blacks access to health facilities, much to the chagrin of the Rhodesian authorities.

After Independence, Dr Stamps served in the Government of Zimbabwe as Minister of Health from 1990 to 2002.

He is credited for playing a pivotal role in championing the fight against HIV and Aids, a role he bravely took up after taking over from Dr Felix Muchemwa in 1990.

Most notably, in 1999 he led an initiative to prevent mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV.

His efforts, together with the support of Ministry of Health and Child Care officials, saw the creation of the National Aids Council (NAC) in 1999, through an Act of Parliament.

The establishment of the AIDS levy, whereby companies and the formally employed are taxed three percent of their taxable income, also illustrated Government's commitment to tackle the Aids scourge head-on.

In 2004, Dr Stamps founded the Dr Timothy Stamps Trust for people living with chronic conditions after being touched by the plight of people living with such diseases. It also helped to ease the burden of non-communicable diseases in the country.

Dr Stamps also advocated for the development of a policy that rehabilitates and treats drug addicts instead of incarcerating them.

The Ministry of Health and Child Care said the country had lost a hero who contributed immensely to the development of the health sector.

Source - chronicle