Prominent Bulawayo-based medical doctor, Dr Cherifa Sururu has succumbed to COVID-19.
He died at Mater Dei Hospital in Bulawayo on Wednesday night.
Dr Sururu made his name in Bulawayo as a General Practitioner and then he specialised in Family Medicine at Stellenbosch University Capetown where he did his masters.
He was one of the pioneers in Zimbabwe to major in Family Medicine.
Dr Brighton Chireka paid tribute to the late Dr Sururu describing him as a selfless and compassionate doctor. He posted on social media:
Before we could wipe our tears, Dr Cherifa Sururu is no more… I am gutted as I have personally lost a dear colleague and the medical fraternity has lost a selfless colleague.
The whole country but Bulawayo, in particular, has lost a compassionate Doctor. May his soul rest in peace.
Dr Sururu was the founder of Green Crescent Zimbabwe, an organisation carrying out preventive and research activities to raise awareness for addiction treatment for drugs and substance abuse in the country. The Bulawayo-based organisation offered scholarships to Zimbabweans carrying out research on alcohol, tobacco, drugs, gambling, and technology addictions in the country and the southern African region.
The country has lost several health workers to COVID-19 recently with a prominent cardiologist, Dr James Gita Hakim, also succumbing to the disease earlier this week.