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Herald Reporter
HEALTH and Child Welfare Deputy Minister Paul Chimedza has underscored the importance of a holistic funding of the health sector through a national insurance scheme to cater for all diseases. Dr Chimedza said establishment of such a fund would balance sustenance of health institutions and the health needs of disadvantaged people.

He said this in the National Assembly while making a contribution to a motion by MDC-T Non-Constituency MP, Ms Thokozani Khupe calling for a cancer levy to assist those patients that have been affected by the disease.

Dr Chimedza said piecemeal funding of diseases resulted in the fragmentation of management of both communicable and non communicable diseases in the country.

“Let’s take a global view, a bird’s eye view because it is an issue that affects even senior members of society. While I like the idea of a levy, let’s make it a global levy and not just for cancer because you might be treated of cancer but die of diabetes,” he said.

Dr Chimedza said in the past, Government was brainstorming on the possibility of setting up a national insurance health scheme.
He said while the Aids levy had performed wonders in mitigating the effects of the pandemic, it was done out of an emergency situation.
In her contribution, Ms Khupe said the most affected were rural women who were being affected by breast and cervical cancer.

“Cancer is undisputably a rising epidemic. At least 60 percent of women in Zimbabwe risk dying of cervical cancer. Being diagnosed of cervical cancer is like a death sentence,” said Ms Khupe who has successfully contained breast cancer.

The major challenge, said Ms Khupe, was that Zimbabwe only had two health institutions treating cancer, Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals and Mpilo Central Hospital, but most of the time their machines would not be functional.