Doctors Welcome Mnangagwa’s Hospital Visits, Call For Urgent Health Sector Reform

The Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) has welcomed President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s surprise visits to two of the country’s largest referral hospitals. Zimbabwe’s struggling public healthcare system is plagued by dilapidated infrastructure, shortages of drugs and consumables and demoralised human resources. In a statement issued after the President’s "impromptu" tour of Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals and Sally Mugabe Central Hospital in Harare on Monday, ZADHR said the visits gave him a rare opportunity to witness, first-hand, the dire conditions in public health service delivery. ZADHR urged the President to go beyond symbolic visits by establishing a Commission of Inquiry into the healthcare sector. The group said such a high-level investigation is essential for diagnosing systemic failures and ensuring meaningful reform, in line with the constitutional right to health. The statement reads in part: The Commission of Inquiry should be mandated to enquire into the situation of health service provision by Government and its agencies with a view to ensuring service delivery that responds to the obligations created by the Constitution, which under section 76 guarantees the right to health care. ZADHR outlined several critical areas that a proposed Commission of Inquiry should investigate. These include the effectiveness of Zimbabwe’s current health financing mechanisms, challenges in funding allocation, and the government’s adherence to the Abuja Declaration, which calls for at least 15% of the national budget to be dedicated to health. The organisation also called for transparency around the use and impact of health-related taxes—such as the "sugar tax"—since their introduction. The doctors further urged the inquiry to assess staffing levels at referral hospitals in comparison to their official establishment requirements, highlighting the poor remuneration of medical practitioners as a key factor behind the ongoing exodus of skilled personnel. ZADHR stressed that the inquiry must not be a closed-door process. They called for a robust, transparent investigation that actively involves public health institutions, medical professionals, communities, and other key stakeholders. Citizens, they said, must also be given the opportunity to share their lived experiences within the healthcare system.

6/19/2025 11:27:46 AM

Pindula

Doctors Welcome Mnangagwa’s Hospital Visits, Call For Urgent Health Sector Reform

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