PHARMACIST and writer Rueben Kathumba will soon launch seven health educational books as he tries to close the gap between medication and prescription education.
His series of books on health includes Health Literacy for Pastors, Health Literacy for Women, Health Literacy for Corporates, Health Literacy for Families, Youth Health Literacy, Health Literacy for Men and Dermatology for Non-Dermatologists.
Over the past three years, he has worked on the seven books.
“My passion was sparked at the frontline of pharmacy practice, where I consistently saw a gap — not in medication availability, but in understanding. Patients were receiving prescriptions, but not always the knowledge required to use them effectively,” Kathumba told NewsDay & Life Style.
“This realisation led me to transition from simply dispensing medicines to dispensing knowledge. The book series is a direct response to that gap — transforming complex medical information into practical, accessible health literacy tools for everyday people.”
A pharmacist at one of the service providers in the country, Kathumba is the founder of the Health Literacy Africa Initiative (HLAI), a foundation dedicated to helping individuals, families, workplaces and communities better understand health so they can prevent disease, manage medication safely and make informed decisions with regards their health.
Through this initiative, he has been developing a series of health literacy books and training programmes that translate complex medical and pharmaceutical knowledge to practical, easy-to-understand guidance for everyday people through the books that cover areas such as medication literacy, skin health, disease prevention, mental health awareness and workplace health education.
Kathumba said the goal of the books and the foundation was to bridge the gap between medical knowledge and the public, empowering people to take control of their health and reduce preventable diseases.
“Ultimately, this work aims to support healthier communities, more informed patients and stronger healthcare systems across Africa and globally.
“Africa carries a growing burden of both infectious and non-communicable diseases, yet many of these conditions are preventable or manageable with the right knowledge.
“My focus is to shift healthcare from reactive treatment to proactive education.”
He said through the books and the HLAI platform, they were building a system where individuals, families and communities become active participants in their health, not passive recipients.
“Health literacy integration embeds structured health education into communities, schools, churches and workplaces.
“HLAI is a movement focused on empowering communities with practical, evidence-based health knowledge.”
Kathumba said there was need to weave health literacy into existing institutions (schools, churches, workplaces), which takes time and strategic partnerships.
“Health is not reserved for experts — it is a shared responsibility and my message is simple: small, informed decisions made daily can transform lives and communities,” he said.
“Through knowledge, we can prevent disease, reduce suffering and build stronger families. This book launch is more than a publication — it is a call to action for individuals and institutions to take ownership of health and the future we are building is one where health literacy becomes as fundamental as reading and writing.”
He, however, said resource mobilisation was a challenge, adding that it hindered the organisation from widening its outreach.
“Publishing, distribution and programme rollout require capital and health education is often underfunded.
“For now, I was self-funding, which is not sufficient for the impact intended.”
Zimbabwe’s health sector is facing a number of challenges with health education being one of the issues. Kathumba is expected to close some of the gaps.