Harare (New Ziana) -The Zimbabwe government should strive to achieve the 2001 Abuja Declaration target for African countries to spend at least 15 percent of total expenditure on health care, an expert has said.
Senior researcher and economist Dr Prosper Chitambara said this while addressing a pre-budget seminar on health which the Community Working Group on Health (CWGH) held in the capital on Tuesday.
Dr Chitambara said the government should also expedite the establishment of the National Health Insurance Scheme which will be funded through taxing all those in formal employment.
Plans to establish the NHIS have been on the cards for the past 19 years with the government in 2019 declaring that it wanted the scheme to be in place by January 2020 but that did not materialise.
When it was first mooted, the National Social Security Authority (NSSA) was given the task to establish it before the responsibility was transferred to the Ministry of Health and Child Care.
“The country’s health sector continues to face myriad challenges that include inadequate budgetary allocation and gross public under investment,” said Dr Chitambara.
He said due to the low budgetary support, the poor continue to bear the highest burden of diseases and experience high levels of financially crippling health care costs.
Dr Chitambara urged the government to allow communities to participate in budgetary formulation for their contributions to be incorporated in the National Budget as provided for in the Constitution and the Public Finance Management Act.
He said that the health sector suffers inadequate and depleted health workforces and prohibitive cost of emergency and specialist services.
District level health facilities have been affected by out migration of health workers who leave with valuable experience and knowledge, he stated.
“Out migration of health workers has impacted on the quality of health services, particularly in the specialised areas where their skills are on high demand. Some posts have remained unfilled for a long time due to lack of specialists,” said Dr Chitambara.
Speaking at the same event, village health workers complained that they were not being paid although they were playing a pivotal role in providing health care.
“We are not receiving any salary except the Donor Fund of $15 quarterly, but as for me l last received it in 2018. The government should include us in the National Budget,” said Concelia Mukarati.
New Ziana
