Bulawayo, (New Ziana) – The Ministry of Health and Child Welfare said on Monday it aimed to double the country`s health workforce by 2030 to enhance access to service.
In addition to recruitment of additional staff, Health and Childcare Minister, Dr Douglas Mombeshora said bolstering training, and retaining health personnel was also key to the goal. He was speaking at Ministry’s strategic review meeting here.
At present, the country`s public health sector has 58,544 staff, but experiences high staff turnover, with most qualified medical personnel leaving for greener pastures in the region and abroad.
The government plans of increasing medical staff also include beefing up the size of village health workers from 20,000 to 40,000 by 2028, and doubling the number of trained specialists, such as doctors and radiotherapists within the same time-frame.
It also aims to increase the number of health graduates from various training institutions from the current 3,871 per year to at least 9,000 by 2030.
“Our priority is to double the workforce by 2030. We must increase training capacity, absorb all trained personnel, and retain and equip them for better service delivery. I launched the Health Workers Strategy and signed off the Investment Compact,” Dr Mombeshora said.
He highlighted substantial investments in health facility development, including new clinics and hospitals and upgrades to existing infrastructure.
“Our priority is to complete ongoing projects and ensure they are fully functional. Reducing the distance travelled to health facilities remains a key focus. Secondary care facilities are being established in Harare and Bulawayo to de-congest central hospitals. Equipping hospitals and clinics is another priority,” he explained.
He also stressed the importance of infrastructure maintenance to foster better working conditions, which are crucial for retaining skilled personnel. “Good infrastructure helps retain our workforce as they are motivated to work in better environments,” he noted.
Dr Mombeshora further said his ministry is set to harness digital solutions to improve healthcare delivery. “We are investing in health information systems, tele-medicine, and other digital health solutions to enhance service delivery and data management.
“Let me urge you to accelerate the implementation of digital health strategies, including those from the recently convened Digital Health Indaba,” he said.
Dr Mombeshora also announced plans to replace outdated analogue X-ray machines with an additional 24 digital equipment, signalling a leap toward modernising healthcare equipment across all health facilities.
“We also want to embrace Tele-Medicine to ensure people in remote areas access better services,” he added.
He said the Ministry was also focused on addressing the perennial shortage of essential drugs in the country`s health facilities.
In this regard, he spoke of the need to capacitate NatPharm, the country’s pharmaceutical supplier, to procure and distribute medicines efficiently.
“Sending prescriptions outside hospitals should stop as we stock our facilities. Pooled procurement at national and provincial levels has been considered to minimize wastage and improve efficiency,” he said.
But Mombeshora said drug availability had improved marginally from 44 to 49 percent this year. “This is not a big jump, but we aim to improve supplies across healthcare facilities,” he said. He called for renewed efforts to reduce maternal and neonatal deaths, which remain unacceptably high.
“Though there has been progress in most communicable diseases, Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) and other conditions continue to affect our populations.
“Let me reiterate that maternal and neonatal deaths must be avoided at all costs. We must intensify supervision and mentorship to address health emergencies and reduce preventable deaths,” Mombeshora said.
He also highlighted the need to ensure adequate domestic resourcing for the health sector, saying this was important to ensure sustainable service delivery.
“Health financing challenges continue to hinder progress, but we are optimistic about improved budget allocations for 2025. Though still falling short of our requirements, the increase in budget allocation is encouraging,” he said.
New Ziana
