The dire state of Zimbabwe’s healthcare system, As Limpopo Health MEC Phophi Ramathuba faces criticism regarding her comments to a woman, believed to be Zimbabwean, her counterparts in Zimbabwe are coming under renewed pressure about the state of the healthcare system in that country.
The dire state of Zimbabwe’s healthcare system, In the video, Ramathuba tells a woman, who she assumes is Zimbabwean because she speaks Shona, that there is a “huge strain” on South Africa’s health budget because “he [President Emmerson Mnangagwa] doesn’t give me money to operate (sic) you guys, and I am operating you with my limited resources. You are killing my health system”. Reacting to the video, Zimbabwean opposition politician, Linda Tsungirirai Masarira, wrote an open letter, which was addressed to the Vice-President and Minister of Health and Childcare, Constantino Chiwenga. Masarira wrote that the Zimbabwean government had failed its people. Government has failed to ensure people’s right to access to affordable, quality and basic healthcare in government hospitals. Most, if not all, public hospitals lack basic antibiotics, painkillers and chronic disease medication. “Considering that the ministry of health gets at least 15% of the national budget, it is perplexing how the ministry of health has continuously failed to provide quality healthcare to the people of Zimbabwe,”
The dire state of Zimbabwe’s healthcare system, Chiwenga is in Togo to attend a World Health Organisation global health leaders meeting. By the time of going to press, there was no response from his office. The government’s information secretary, Nick Mangwana, did not take calls. Seeking treatment outside ZimbabweMany Zimbabweans seek medical treatment in the country’s neighbours – South Africa, Botswana and Zambia. While many go to public health facilities, wealthier Zimbabweans seek treatment at private hospitals. In 2019, Section 27’s Sasha Stevenson, writing on Bhekisisa, noted that legislation suggested that foreign nationals from South African Development Community countries should be treated like South Africans, paying for healthcare in public hospitals, based on a means test, which takes into account the individual’s level of income. Fungai Tsuma is one of many Zimbabweans who live in Beitbridge, near Musina in Limpopo, and occasionally seeks treatment in South Africa. Tsuma says South Africa’s public hospitals are equal to, if not better, than private facilities in Zimbabwe. “It’s like going to a private hospital because the healthcare is miles ahead of what’s there at home.
Source: This news is originally published by newzimbabwe