The Zimbabwe Taxpayers’ Platform (ZITAP) joins the public in expressing concern about the state of the country’s health delivery system.
ZITAP also notes that the statement by the Ministry of Health and Childcare (MoHCC) on its official social media on May 6 appears to downplay these public concerns.
The Ministry’s statement unfortunately labels these public concerns “unwarranted and mischievous” instead of presenting a roadmap to addressing the challenges.
Public concern has been rising about the state of the healthcare system following revelations of shortages of basics, including drugs and equipment, risking avoidable deaths among patients.
The current situation reveals the failure to prioritise and deploy revenue collected from taxpayers to improve the welfare of Zimbabweans, including funding healthcare.
ZITAP reminds the government that strengthening the country’s health delivery system is important for the realisation of the right to health in Section 76 and the right to life in Section 48 of the Constitution.
The Abuja Declaration of 2001 adopted by African Union (AU) member states enjoins African governments to allocate at least 15% of the National Budget to health.
While remaining below the 15% benchmark, the Zimbabwe government allocation to health in the National Budget in 2025 fell to 10.2% from 10.8% in 2024. This is a further decline from the 14.9% allocated in 2022.
The recent changes in global aid and cutting of funding by major donors will further increase funding gaps in public health without subsequent government intervention, worsening the situation.
ZITAP as an institution committed to advocating for transparent, lean, and efficient public administration, recommends the following:
- The Government must treat the state of public health institutions as an emergency.
- The Government must take urgent steps to increase funding for public health institutions, including the purchase of drugs, equipment, and infrastructure repairs.
- The Parliament of Zimbabwe must urgently investigate of the state of the country’s health delivery system and make policy recommendations.
- The Government must tackle corruption and waste in the public sector to reduce misuse of funds and avail more resources for priorities including public health.
For more information contact: Email: zitap@tecazw.org