Members of Parliament on Wednesday confronted Vice President and Health and Childcare Minister Constantino Chiwenga over the state of the country’s health sector.
Zimbabwe’s health sector is experiencing a massive brain drain and thousands of health professionals leave the country for greener pastures. The sector is also underfunded.
This also comes as Zimbabweans living near the country’s borders are being forced to seek medical treatment in neighbouring countries such as South Africa, Zambia and Mozambique.
Mutare Central MP Innocent Gonese (CCC) said the brain drain in the health sector was a cause for concern. He said:
Our doctors and nurses are leaving the country and one of the reasons is the issue of the poor health sector.
A lot of doctors indicated that sometimes they do not have the tools of trade and these are some of the issues which we want an independent commission (to inquire into).
Kambuzuma MP Willias Madzimure (CCC), also contributing to the debate on the Health Services Amendment Bill which is before Parliament, said:
The fact that our health workers are leaving the country in their numbers is an indication that something is not right. We cannot pay a blind eye to that.
The Health Services Amendment Bill seeks to align the Health Service Act to the Constitution.
Chiwenga told MPs that the Bill was necessary to address the concerns of healthcare workers, which include the improvement of their conditions of service, as well as deliver the best health system for Zimbabweans. | NewsDay