AVENUES Clinic chief financial officer Peddy Chigunduru has identified drug abuse as one of the biggest killers among men across the globe.
Zimbabwe is currently grappling with a deadly phase of the vice, with efforts being made to solve the challenge, including police operations targeting drug users and suppliers.
Speaking on the sidelines of a careers expo on Monday, Chigunduru said: “We are seeing a lot of issues related to drug abuse, leading to the subversion of the future of our young minds. It is very important during Father's Day and Mental Health Month to ensure that young boys and girls interact with those who have been successful and provide role models so that they come out of any drug abuse situation.
“They instead re-energise and redirect their efforts to be able to pursue lifelong dreams free of drug abuse and drug addiction. That's one of our main goals in this clinic, where they live in private also and we are trying to make sure that in every situation we play our part as a corporate social responsibility to provide our input in terms of mental health awareness and remediation.”
Medical Investments Limited, which runs Avenues Clinic, on Monday hosted more than 100 learners from various schools in commemoration of Fathers’ Day, where they received career guidance from senior staff.
The “Careers Expo” for boys in the sciences and business fields’ initiative mirrored an event hosted for Women’s Day in the spirit of balance and inclusivity.
The expo was dedicated to empowering young men with approximately 125 students from Allan Wilson, Harare High, Mufakose 1 High and St George’s College attending the event, which featured insightful presentations by accomplished professionals who shared their career journeys and offered guidance.
Zimbabwe is grappling with a deadly phase of the vice, with efforts being made to solve the challenge, including the police, who have since launched several operations targeting drug users and suppliers.
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Chigunduru said the Avenues Clinic had engaged in mentorship, sponsorship and counselling services for those who suffered mental health and drug abuse issues.
“We continue to invest in collaboration with various stakeholders, including the Ministry of Health and other private hospitals in the country. The ultimate goal is to provide a healthy youth, a healthy nation and a healthy future for all,” he said.
Meanwhile, acting principal nursing officer Elizabeth Mhanya told journalists on a tour of the facilities that they have refurbished 60% of the hospital.
“We are there to offer quality nursing care to our patients and we also realise that you can’t do that without a clean and appealing environment. We have covered a lot of ground, about 50-60% of the clinical areas where patients' health experiences have been motivated. To complement that, we ensure that we have highly qualified nurses, so in our care areas, like the intensive care, the theatre, maternity, we have specialised skills, midwives for maternity, intensive care nurses for the critical care area, operating theatre nurses for the theatres,” she said.
Mhanya said the hospital had high-tech equipment.
