By Moses Mugugunyeki The Zimbabwe Red Cross Society (ZRCS) has raised concern over the mushrooming of bogus institutions and agencies offering fake nurse aide and first aid certificates.
Lately, there has been a proliferation of agencies and institutions in the country purporting to offer nurse aide and first aid training due to the high demand of trained healthcare workers in Europe, Australia and the United States.
ZRCS is among a handful of organisations that have been offering internationally-recognised nurse aid and first aid certificates.
The organisation’s secretary general Elias Hwenga said there was need to tighten the noose on institutions and agencies that offer bogus nurse aide and first aid qualifications.
Hwenga said this while receiving a donation of 500 first aid kits from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Thursday.
“Lately, we have witnessed an increase in the number of bogus agencies offering nurse aide or first aid training in the country,” Hwenga said.
“We want to warn those who are doing so that the law will soon catch up with them and will be brought to book.”
He said there were so many organisations purporting to be working with the ZRCS in the training of nurse aides.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
“As an organisation we are looking into the matter and we are doing investigations to get to the bottom of the story with regards to these bogus agencies,” Hwenga said.
He said the donated first aid kits take the Red Cross back to its ethos of alleviating human suffering.
ICRC head of delegation for South Africa Mamadou Sow said his organisation will continue supporting the ZRCS in various ways.
“The first aid kits are meant to respond to emergencies and going forward, ICRC will keep on supporting the national society,” he said.
Sow said he was impressed by the work being done by volunteers, whom he described as the “mainstay of the Red Cross movement”.
