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Farirai Machivenyika
Senior Reporter
Public health expenditure for each person will almost triple from US$30 to US$86 a year by 2025 under the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) funded from a range of sources and including better health facilities, a wider range of services and more and better-paid staff under a better-empowered Health Services Board.

NDS1 launched by President Mnangagwa last week sees the proposed new levels of public health expenditure to be in line with international standards.

Government will develop and implement a health sector coordination framework, harmonise the fragmented health funding pools, and implement cross subsidisation of health insurance benefit schemes.

Human resources in the health sector will be upgraded through implementation of a single spine remuneration scheme for health care workers, provision of adequate tools of trade, non-monetary incentives and strengthened training of health professionals.

The ongoing restructuring of the Ministry of Health and Child Care will be accelerated.

To improve access to medicines, Government will support local drug manufacturing companies, strengthen procurement and regulation of medicines and commodities, and capacitate NatPharm along with adoption of measures to stop leaks and theft of drugs.

Zimbabwe will adopt biomedical engineering, biomedical science and bio pharmaceutical production.

Government acknowledged in the NDS1 that a healthy population was critical for the achievement of economic growth.

“A healthy population is crucial for the realisation of economic growth and the achievement of an upper middle income society, hence implementation of health sector reforms will be prioritised during the strategy period.

“Health is a fundamental human right in terms of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, hence the overall outcome of the health sector during the NDS1 period is to improve quality of life, and improve life expectancy at birth from the current 61 years to 65 years,” reads part of the NDS1.

NDS1, the economic blueprint running from 2021 to 2025, will be anchored on devolution and decentralisation plus prudent use of public resources.

It focuses on using the economic stability already achieved under the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP) that runs to the end of this year, President Mnangagwa while launching NDS1 last week, and to bring youth and women into the economic mainstream.