The recent outbreak of cholera was the latest painful episode in Zimbabwe's steadily unfolding tragedy. With the collapse of the country's health and sanitation systems, the easily treatable water-borne disease spread rapidly, killing at least 2,200 people, according to the World Health Organisation.

Healthcare in the country, once among the most prosperous in Africa, is declining fast. Nurses and doctors are leaving their jobs at oversubscribed hospitals because they are not being paid. There is little manufacturing capacity left to make equipment and, thanks to hyperinflation, profiteering is rife, and when scarce medical supplies finally do reach the embattled country they are often too costly for healthcare institutions to purchase.

The catastrophic sight of a nation in freefall has appalled the world, but for Charles Takawira, a 27-year-old Zimbabwean social entrepreneur who came to the UK 12 years ago, it strikes a personal chord. Growing up in Harare, poverty was “always something that I had been attuned to and wanted to do something about,” he says.

He initially planned to work in healthcare in the UK, and began a course in adult nursing at City University in London. Then, in his early twenties, he lost both of his parents to HIV/Aids.

After a period of feeling unable to do anything, the loss gave Takawira a renewed sense of purpose, he said. “It changed my whole view in terms of society and making a difference. It became my calling, so to speak, to help Zimbabwe and Africa as a whole.”

Working in St Barts Hospital in London as a student, Takawira became aware of large quantities of surplus NHS materials available and was startled by the amount of second-hand stock that was thrown away. Strict standards in the UK mean that equipment is taken out of the system after a certain period of time, although much of it is still useable. “A lot of equipment and stock was just being thrown away,” Takawira said.

Two years ago, he went back to Zimbabwe on a placement from City. “It was on that visit that I realised the need on the ground,” he said. “The shortage of medical supplies across the board was the main challenge. There are still dedicated staff [working in hospitals] but they don’t have any money.”

With the help of several fellow students and friends, Takawira began collecting surplus equipment such as catheters and bandages and storing them in his uncle’s garage. He then started sending them back to Zimbabwe and nearby Malawi, on personal visits and later in containers. “Each time someone was going back we would ask them to take something with them,” he says.

The fledgling project, now named Healthcare Link, is still in a pilot stage and will be officially launched in February as a fully functioning social enterprise. So far Takawira, together with about 1,000 volunteers and supported by several companies and Salisbury NHS Trust, has exported 80 pallets of supplies including beds, wheelchairs, X-ray readers and incubators.

Hospitals and healthcare institutions receiving the equipment pay a handling charge which covers the cost of transportation and delivery. Institutions that cannot afford to pay can receive a full subsidy, and Healthcare Link works with them until they are able to contribute.

Takawira aims to make Healthcare Link a sustainable social enterprise, capable of delivering regular supplies of surplus stock to hospitals in the developing world and soon hopes to be able to offer Europe-based Zimbabwean doctors the chance to return to set up their own clinics using decommissioned equipment from NHS hospitals.

As well as managing Healthcare Link, Takawira is developing his business skills through studying social enterprise at the School for Social Entrepreneurs in London (SSE), courtesy of a grant from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the accounting firm, as part of its scheme to support young social entrepreneurs.

He says that the SSE course is helping too – “It is a challenge sometimes without the formal background” – particularly in learning how to scale up the project. “Having the help of PwC and SSE has opened a lot of doors in engaging companies and potential partners,” he says.

In his soft-spoken yet determinedly ambitious way, Takawira says he is confident, that having already had an enthusiastic response from a handful of hospitals and NHS trusts, he will be able to secure the backing “of the British healthcare industry as a whole.” He also hopes that companies that offer relevant services, such as logistics providers, will contribute support to the project in kind and is also in contact with a related organisation that delivers surplus pharmaceutical supplies to African countries.

The urgency of Zimbabwe’s plight is plainly apparent. Takawira, despite his remarkable achievements so far, cannot seem to move fast enough. “Many people are surviving on 68 pence per day. Those who need healthcare most are not getting it,” he says.

www.healthcarelink.org