Prioritise motivation, training of more health professionals:  VP Chiwenga Vice President Constantino Chiwenga follows proceedings at the medical exhibition, the Africa Health ExCon , in Cairo yesterday while seated next to Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi

Mukudzei Chingwere in CAIRO, Egypt 

African governments have an obligation to prioritise the motivation and improvement of the welfare for health professionals as well as more investment in their training as a means to guaranteeing quality health systems.

Vice President Constantino Chiwenga told continental peers yesterday at the ongoing medical exhibition in Cairo, the Africa Health ExCon which was opened by Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

The conference is discussing and sharing notes by peers on ways of improving medical and pharmaceutical sectors. 

VP Chiwenga who is also the Minister of Health and Child Care responded made the remarks while responding to a question from the organisers on the priorities of the health sector and the kind of support the continent’s health system needs from international organisations.

There is need for, “support for human resources for health because of high staff attrition just like in other developing countries the developed countries are offering much higher salaries because of the Covid-19 pandemic,” responded VP Chiwenga. 

“We would like to see more investment in training for health workers, improvement in their conditions of service like transport, accommodation, canteens and salaries gap addressed to improve their take home purse. Perhaps the developed countries can come in to assist in these areas.”

VP Chiwenga said self sufficiency in pharmaceuticals and equipment manufacturing is another key component.

“Covid-19 taught us that supply chains can be affected and this resulted in serious gaps in availability in these areas,” he said. Zimbabwe has won several international endorsements for a thorough and comprehensive response to the global Covid-19 pandemic which minimised its effects on the citizenry.

The Vice President shared some of the measures done by Zimbabwe to record success in its response like capacitating universities and the private sector to produce material to respond to the pandemic like personal protective equipment (PPE) and other consumables.

He said Zimbabwe was now looking at developing joint ventures with Egyptian companies to come and start the production of consumables for the Zimbabwean and Southern African market.

“We are looking at collaborations and partnership that will ensure that Zimbabwe’s capacity to produce medicines and medical devices for domestic use is significantly improved from around 10 percent to over 80 percent by 2030.

“This can be achieved ultimately through technology transfer which can be start off with partnerships with local existing manufacturers or an outright greenfield project. 

“The desire is that Zimbabwe becomes for a net exporter of medicine and related products into the region and beyond.”

In his response VP Chiwenga said there is a need for the improvement in water sanitation and hygiene for the population to reduce water borne diseases. 

He noted that there is need to prioritise “improved focus on Non diseases in areas such as cancer management, pathology, toxicology, life style diseases and many other areas.”

The Vice President said the rising problem of substance abuse among the youth came as a result lockdowns and organised crime syndicates response taking advantage.

“We are looking at sharing notes with our AU (African Union) brothers on a continental response.”

VP Chiwenga also said emerging diseases like Covid-19 and natural disasters induced by climate change necessitate a reconfiguration of health response to having a sharper response to health emergencies.

Egypt on the other hand said it was open to accept collaborations with continental peers in various sectors.

The Egyptian President said VP Chiwenga talked about the importance of water and, “we have been working to maximise water resources.” 

President El-Sisi also said, “Egyptian capacities are available to our African brothers. We are ready to do this and beyond to other sectors.”

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