MANY people succumb to cardiac diseases, renal failure, and cerebrovascular accidents.
Stroke alone accounts for close to five million deaths annually while hypertension directly and indirectly takes at least seven million lives from this world yearly.
Many of our people have experienced mental health issues with depression being dominant.
The consequences are dire, with suicide cases being rampant in the country.
Some have resorted to drug abuse with deleterious effects, which include organ damage, social isolation and rowdy behaviour, to mention just a few. We need to keep our bodies healthy so that we live longer.
Zimbabwe heads for the harmonised general elections on August 23 and the pre-election atmosphere is electric with political activists running from one corner to another.
The campaigns are being vigorously done as politicians try to canvass for votes.
Zimbabweans are generally peace-loving citizens who usually shun violence and as the political temperatures continue to rise, citizens should be reminded to remain peaceful as we are all sons and daughters of this beautiful country.
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If we can be easliy incited to fight each other, then we are doomed as a nation as the repercussions will always come back to haunt us.
There is no country that can develop without unity of purpose as political development depends on political unity and participation.
Economic development occurs under peaceful conditions. The quality of life of a nation, region or community can improve as goals and objectives are met. Peace is important for everyone.
Elections in Zimbabwe come with a lot of physical, mental, psychological health problems.
Physical effects have mainly come from violence when people fight each other while defending their candidates.
Some have been maimed while others face the grim reality of having to stay with disabilities for the rest of their lives.
Some are incarcerated for crimes ranging from assault, attempted murder, kidnapping and murder and the consequences will haunt the perpetrators in their personal capacities.
A country cannot be said to be civilised when citizens fight and murder each other because of politics. We are all Zimbabweans and we need each other for survival.
It is a pity that some patients who have chronic conditions default on important medications because they have no time for follow-ups and reviews with their medical practitioners due to many political rallies they have to attend.
Chronic conditions like diabetes mellitus, hypertension, HIV and Aids, epilepsy have to be monitored closely and medicine intake should be religious and timely.
Skipping doses or defaulting brings calamitous results in the future as this gives rise to the risk of drug resistance, especially for conditions such as HIV and Aids.
A politician with high blood pressure, who is supposed to address three rallies in a day, has a high risk of getting a stroke; same as a cardiac disease patient who is supposed to work for extraordinarily long hours without rest.
One has to value their health as they participate in politics, which comes and goes.
We have lost many politicians to conditions such as heart attack, cerebrovascular accidents (stroke), hypoglycaemia, renal failure because they could not find time for check-ups.
If power is more important than your health, then you are still in the dilemma of mental dysfunction and one should never conflate political power with good health.
Mental health issues can creep in before and after the August elections.
Politicians should be taught not to over-invest in politics as they can run the risk of developing loss stress, depression, post-traumatic stress disorders and even mental breakdown.
It is thus imperative to know that politics is just a game that will come to pass.
Let us all be wary of our health as we continue to canvass support for our respective leaders. Your health matters!
- Johannes Marisa is president of the Medical and Dental Private Practitioners Association of Zimbabwe. He writes here in his personal capacity.
