Zimbabwe nurses seek better conditions abroad but fear for patients at home | Health

Harare, Zimbabwe – In December 2021, Setfree Mafukidze, his wife and four children moved to Somerset in the United Kingdom, joining a long list of health workers who have fled Zimbabwe to escape economic and political turmoil.

For four years, he had worked as the head nurse at the only clinic in Chivu, a town about 140km (90 miles) south of Harare.

By his estimate, he cared for more than 10,000 people there. Despite earning only about $150 a month, he would often dip into his own pockets to pay his patients’ bills.

Once, a patient with meningitis needed $200 to buy lifesaving…