Makurira bags award for outstanding contribution to medical fraternity
SHANNISE DZOBO
MASVINGO – Renowned medical practitioner, Dr Phineas Svondo Makurira bagged a Zimbabwe Medical Association (ZiMA) Lifetime Achievement Award for his unique contribution to the medical field.
The awards ceremony was held in Harare recently and was attended by the who is who in the medical fraternity.
Dr Makurira received this award in recognition of his remarkable achievements and exceptional contributions to the medical fraternity locally and beyond borders.
Dr Makurira told The Midweek Watch that the award came as a surprise.
“It came as a complete surprise to have been awarded the highest honour from the medical association and I am completely humbled for the recognition that I received,” said Dr Makurira.
“I was in the same category with one of my classmates Professor Muguti and I believe in the selection criteria they looked at what we have done for the medical association and the profession at large”.
The current president of ZiMA Dr Kudzai Masinire presented the award to Dr Makurira.
Dr Makurira who has been in the profession for more than four decades was born 71 years ago in Zvishavane.
He grew up in Gresham, Zvishavane before enrolling at Luveve in Bulawayo for primary education and Fletcher High School for his secondary education. From there, he enrolled at the University of Zimbabwe medical school and completed his studies in 1978.
After qualifying as a medical doctor, he went to the United Kingdom to write further examinations to validate his qualifications as a medical doctor.
In 1979, he was deployed to Mpilo Hospital in in Bulawayo and practised as a medical doctor for two consecutive years. After the country attained its independence, he enrolled for another medical training and was deployed at Masvingo Provincial Hospital in 1981.
In Masvingo, he worked under Medical Superintendent Dr Ascof who later retired the same year leaving the position to Dr Makurira.
Dr Makurira was the Acting Superintendent for that year and was later appointed the substantive Superintendent on 23 December 1981.
He left government services in 1984 to start his own surgery where he was first situated at Building Brigade and relocated to Pangolin and later found a permanent home in Simon Mzenda Street formerly Hofmeyer.
“I left the government services with the vision of providing unique services to our people, also to create employment and to uplift my family as I was the first born in my family”, said Dr Makurira.
In his medical career, Dr Makurira has some notable achievements that include; working with Masvingo City Council as a medical advisor for three years.
He was also in the COVID-19 advisory board, was part of the people who facilitated the formation of ZiMA in 2000 and in 2005 he was the chairman of Medical and Dental Practitioners Council of Zimbabwe.
He was also part of MSF Doctors without Borders in 2007 when there was a cholera outbreak and he was also appointed as a board member in the same organisation for four years. In 2016 he was also appointed board member of MSF Southern Africa up to 2019.
He also served in the National Aids Council board.
He now owns Makurira Memorial Clinic which also bagged an award of Excellence of the Year 2021 Gold Winner at Megafest Business Awards.
The clinic was also awarded the first National Prize on Quality Care to the Community for medium businesses in Zimbabwe in November 2000, awarded the prize of Rural Businessman of the Year for Midlands Province 1999 for investment at Mabasa Growth point Zvishavane and awarded City of Masvingo Civic Honour Award in 2020 for outstanding contribution to the community of Masvingo.
The private clinic is complemented by 21 members of staff both permanent and part-timers and the clinic has 25 beds.
The clinic offers dialysis services, ophthalmology, physiotherapy and laboratory service
