Bulawayo (New Ziana) -Health insurer, Cimas, will this year spend US$7 million in improving health service delivery and infrastructure in the country, an official has said.

Cimas chief executive officer Vulindlela Ndlovu told delegates attending the International Business Conference which was held on the sidelines of the just ended Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) that they wanted to ensure that the country had state of the art health care infrastructure that could contribute to improved health outcomes.

“The ultimate goal to invest such an amount is to ensure that the country can have state of the art health care infrastructure that can contribute to improved health outcomes and attract inward medical tourism,” he said.

He commended the government for promoting private public partnerships (PPPs) in all sectors of the economy, adding they expected to partner it in some of the initiatives, particularly the area of mental health.

Ndlovu said health equity was critical in ensuring that everyone was able to attain best level of health in the country.

He said the current situation where less than 10 percent of the country`s population was on medical aid was not pleasing, adding that Cimas wanted to be part of the solution by working with the government and other stakeholders to increase coverage.

“We saw the need at the time of Covid-19 that when we all fall sick we really have a challenge. We would like to be part of the solution, working with Government and other stakeholders to increase medical aid coverage or health insurance coverage,” he said.

Technology could be a game changer improving access to health care, lowering costs, and improving health outcomes, Ndlovu said.

New Ziana