The ministry
has also said they are pushing to meet the Abuja Declaration dictates, which
calls for member states to dedicate 15 percent of their national budgets
towards health funding.
The Minister of
Health and Child Care, Dr. Douglas Mombeshora, made the call during the
Zimbabwe Medical Association (ZiMA) annual Scientific Congress in Bulawayo last
Friday.
“We are
determined to achieve Universal Health Coverage ensuring every Zimbabwean can
access quality health care without financial hardship. The NHI scheme will see
us setting up a fund that will help every Zimbabwean access health for free.
“But every
individual will contribute to it one way or the other through various taxes,
already you are contributing to the sugar tax and airtime tax, we want those
funds to be ring fenced so that when they are collected by Treasury, they are
channelled towards the proper use,” said Dr Mombeshora.
He added; “We
have targeted operationalisation of the NHI scheme by mid next year because we
are still going through the other stages, and setting up the fund.”
He said only
funds collected via the National Aids Trust (Aids Levy), a three percent levy,
is what the country is collecting and they are aware of what it is being used
for.
“We want to
grow that pocket to ensure every one of us accesses health services in our
institutions without any out-of-pocket financing. Our Medical Aid Societies are
only covering about 13 percent of the population and those that are covered are
usually those that are able to pay as they are working and contributing,” he
said.
He outlined how
they hope the NHI will work.
“We want a
defined package to say you walk into a hospital, you get seen by a doctor,
without paying consultation fees and tests are done, treatments are given
without you paying anything, even surgical interventions will be done for free.
“It’s doable,
we have the principles to Cabinet and they have been approved, we have done the
initial draft for the Bill, we have revised it and done the second draft and
revised it. We had our final meeting with the Minister of Finance two weeks ago
as he has to approve the revenue streams we have suggested. We have passed that
stage and the last stage now is Parliament,” said Dr Mombeshora.
Secretary for
Health and Child Care, Dr Aspect Maunganidze, speaking at the Health Sector
Working Group meeting last week, also stressed the need for the finalisation of
the NHI.
The meeting
reviewed progress on previous commitments, discussed technical recommendations
and agreed on strategies to strengthen the health sector.
Dr Maunganidze,
who is also the chairperson of the Health Sector Working Group, said
sustainable health funding is important.
He said
citizens are also experiencing the gap in essential programming following the
withdrawal of the United States Government funding to the country.
“One of the
pressing issues we must confront is sustainable health financing. The
withdrawal of United States Government (USG) funding has left a significant gap
in critical programmes, especially HIV, TB, and malaria. While we deeply
appreciate the support we continue to receive from other partners, the lesson
is clear: we must strengthen local resource mobilisation.
“This means two
things. First, innovative mechanisms such as the National Health Insurance must
move forward with urgency. The draft Bill and benefit package are already in
progress, and broad-based consultations will ensure that the scheme is
responsive and inclusive,” he said.
The NHI system,
which has been on the cards for about 25 years, is meant to cushion about 90
percent of the Zimbabwean population that do not have any health insurance.
The ministry is
on record saying Zimbabwe must join other leagues of nations in achieving
universal health coverage, where everyone has access to immediate quality
healthcare services without being exposed to financial hardship.
Second and most
importantly, Dr Maunganidze said there is a need for a stronger and predictable
commitment from Treasury to health financing.
“Health is not
an expense; it is an investment. Every dollar we put into health today saves
lives, boosts productivity and reduces future costs to the economy. The Abuja
Declaration set a target of 15 percent of national budgets for health, and
while we know fiscal space is tight, we must ensure health is consistently
prioritised,” he pleaded.
The Secretary
also said Zimbabwe is focusing on medicines availability, investing in
infrastructure rehabilitation, re-equipping central hospitals and modernising
its facilities to improve service delivery.
“These are not
just policy commitments — they are practical steps towards a more resilient and
responsive health system. Let us remember that the health of our people is not
the responsibility of one ministry, one agency, or one partner — it is a shared
responsibility,” he said.
Dr. Munganidze
said the meeting of the working groups comes at a pivotal moment for Zimbabwe’s
health sector where the 2023–24 Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey (ZDHS)
has given them both reasons to celebrate and act with urgency.
“We commend the
remarkable reduction in maternal mortality from 651 deaths per 100 000 live
births in 2015 to 212 in 2024. Life expectancy has also risen from 61 to 64,4
years, with women averaging 68 years. These achievements reflect the
effectiveness of our collective efforts.
“However, we
cannot ignore the worrying rise in neonatal mortality, now at 37 deaths per 1
000 live births — the highest recorded to date. This calls for renewed focus on
perinatal and neonatal care, strengthening our health system, and ensuring a
continuum of care from pregnancy through the postnatal period,” he added.
Sunday Mail
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