This contributed volume, based on papers presented at a conference held in Zimbabwe in mid-2021, examines the nexus between Zimbabwe’s health systems and the COVID-19 pandemic. The collection of papers contained here is diverse and covers topics from how health systems handled (or didn’t handle) surges to health communication during a global pandemic to economic and environmental impacts of the pandemic in Zimbabwe. Editors Drs. Edward Kunonga, Lazarus Chapungu, and David Chikodzi set the stage for these pieces with an introductory chapter that describes the health systems in Zimbabwe and offers an overview of the effects of the pandemic felt in the country. Their concluding chapter synthesizes trends and issues emerging from the chapters and recommends policy directions regarding health management systems in Zimbabwe and elsewhere in the face of this and future pandemics.

Lazarus Chapungu (Editor-in-Chief) is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Institute for Corporate Citizenship, UNISA. He has worked as a senior lecturer and research chair in the Department of Physics, Geography and Environmental Science at Great Zimbabwe University. He served as a chapter scientist in the 6^th Assessment Report (AR6) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Working Group III Chapter 2. His research interests are in contemporary environmental issues, climate change, sustainable development and biodiversity. 

David Chikodzi (Co-Editor) is a Post-doctoral research fellow in the Exxaro Chair in Business and Climate Change at the University of South Africa. He holds a PhD in Geography and Environment Science from the University of the Western Cape (South Africa), Masters’ degree in Environmental Policy and Planning, as well as a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Degree in Geography from the University of Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe). 

Kaitano Dube (Co-Editor) is an Associate Professor of Tourism Geography at Vaal University of Technology. He is a National Research of Foundation Y2-rated researcher who has researched and widely published (books and journal articles) on climate change, tourism, aviation, COVID-19 and sustainability. He is currently an editor of Tourism Geographies and Associate Editor of Frontiers in Sustainable Tourism. He holds a PhD in Environmental Management and an MSc in Geography from the University of South Africa. He graduated with Hons BSc from Midlands State University.