Poor funding hinders universal health coverage Dr Gibson Mhlanga
Dr Gibson Mhlanga

Dr Gibson Mhlanga

Paidamoyo Chipunza Senior Reporter
LACK of adequate funding hinders universal access to health despite the existence of policy frameworks and political will to ensure equity and quality services to Zimbabweans, a senior Government official has said.

Speaking at the national advocacy conference organised by the Community Working Group on Health in conjunction with Save the Children in Harare yesterday, principal director for prevention services in the Ministry of Health and Child Care Dr Gibson Mhlanga said Government came up with various pro-poor health policies such as the free user fee policy for pregnant women, children under five and patients over 65 years of age, but its full implementation was a challenge.

Dr Mhlanga said this policy was difficult to implement because health institutions were also relying on fees from these patients, hence without adequate funding from the national fiscus, it was tantamount to suffocating their operations.

“The political commitment is there, and the guiding documents are in place, but it is a question of the financial situation, which makes it difficult to implement the existing policies,” said Dr Mhlanga, who is also the chairperson of the technical working group on universal health coverage.

Dr Mhlanga said for years, the health sector has been getting far less than what it required, making universal health coverage difficult to achieve.

Zimbabwe is a signatory to the April 2001 Abuja declaration which recommends at least 15 percent of countries’ national budgets to be channeled towards health delivery.

However, since the adoption of the declaration, the country has never surpassed the Abuja target with the highest allocation so far being 12,3 percent allocated in 2011. Other allocations range between 6-9 percent of the national budget.

Dr Mhlanga said these allocations fall far short the Ministry’s per capita calculations of $16 for primary health care, and $74 for secondary health care.

“These are the figures we use when we request for funding from Treasury, but unfortunately we are not getting these amounts making it difficult to provide healthcare for all in public health institutions,” he said.

Dr Mhlanga said Government was working on a number of alternative sources for domestic funding, such as tax on fuel, cigarettes and beer to fund some of the sector’s critical services.

“We have already done the technical work, and we have submitted the paperwork to higher offices for further consultations,” said Dr Mhlanga.

He said the National Health Insurance Scheme was another source of funding expected to make health accessible to everyone.

“As Ministry of Health, we have done our part, and all is left with the relevant ministry, thus the Ministry of Labour, Public Service and Social Welfare,” he said.

 

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