Four American Health Care Professionals Freed On Bail In Zimbabwe

Four American health care professionals, consisting of doctors and nurses, have been freed on bail by a Zimbabwean court. They had been arrested last week for not having the right medical licenses and dispensing medications without proper supervision and authorization. They had to pay $200 bail and are to appear in court on September 27th.


Local media say the six individuals, four Americans, a Zimbabwean, and a New Zealander, may be fined or deported. They have surrendered their passports. The court ordered them to remain at the Mother of peace Orphanage until September 27th.


The doctors and nurses worked with AIDS patients and orphans in Zimbabwe. One of them is Chairwoman of an AIDS program run by the Allen Temple Baptist Church, Oakland, California.


According to their lawyer, Jonathan Samukange, they have been charged with:

Practicing medicine without proper licenses
Running a pharmacy without a pharmacist's license
Running a pharmacy without the supervision of a pharmacist

According to their lawyer, they do have proper licenses. Samukange added that the pharmacy gave out medications for the treatment of AIDS.


The defendants appeared in court today, after spending the weekend in what local media described as smelly and badly ventilated cells at Harare Central police station.


Most experts say that without international help from charities, Zimbabwe's health system would probably collapse completely. The team had brought 4 months' worth of antiretroviral drugs for about 800 AIDS patients.


There are approximately two million people living with HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Zimbabwe has the third largest HIV/AIDS burden in sub-Saharan Africa, and among the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates globally.


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