Things are hard, we all know this, however, it is when you are confronted by the specific hardships that people are going through in everyday life to appreciate just how hard things are.

One area that has been profoundly affected by the current economic crisis is healthcare. Not only are doctors on an indefinite strike, but essential life-saving medicines such as paracetamol, insulin and ARVs are also now priced beyond the reach of many.

Often when you walk into a pharmacy they demand payment in US dollars. This is despite the government’s insistence that we all ought to use the Zimbabwean dollar. Most pharmacies have to fund their own imports and cannot get foreign currency from the same government so their position is also untenable.