News / National
Chiwenga summoned over ailing health sector
26 Aug 2022 at 06:35hrs | Views
PARLIAMENTARIANS yesterday demanded that Health and Child Care minister Constantino Chiwenga be summoned to the august House to issue a statement on the state of the country's health sector.
They made the call after the poor state of the health sector was exposed when a Zimbabwean woman was abused at a hospital in neighbouring South Africa by medical doctor and Limpopo province Member of the Executive Committee (MEC) Phophi Ramathuba.
The Zimbabwean woman was awaiting surgery after she was involved in a road accident.
In a video that went viral, Ramathuba said foreign nationals were straining that country's healthcare system, adding that President Emmerson Mnangagwa was not footing the bill for the treatment of the country's citizens.
Harare East legislator Tendai Biti (Citizens Coalition for Change) said the country's health system was in a sorry state, hence Chiwenga should issue an explanation.
"My point of national interest is on the conditions in public hospitals. I was at Parirenyatwa Hospital recently and the doctors are forcing you to buy everything: bandages, syringes and painkillers," Biti said. "The public health system in Zimbabwe has collapsed. Yesterday (Wednesday) in this House, we heard that in Chipinge, they are taking citizens bitten by dogs to Mozambique to get treated. It's a national crisis. There are no dialysis machines and there is no basic equipment in our hospital.
"In South Africa, we got the video clip of the MEC saying what is wrong with the health system in our country. Can the Minister of Health be summoned to this august House to present a state of the status of our health and how the government is going to deal with this issue?"
Deputy Speaker of Parliament Tsitsi Gezi said: "Can the government chief whip pass the message to the responsible minister."
In 1985, the World Health Organisation declared that the Zimbabwean healthcare system was among the best in the developing world.
However, most of the gains have been reversed by years of underfunding, a high brain drain and poor working conditions.
They made the call after the poor state of the health sector was exposed when a Zimbabwean woman was abused at a hospital in neighbouring South Africa by medical doctor and Limpopo province Member of the Executive Committee (MEC) Phophi Ramathuba.
The Zimbabwean woman was awaiting surgery after she was involved in a road accident.
In a video that went viral, Ramathuba said foreign nationals were straining that country's healthcare system, adding that President Emmerson Mnangagwa was not footing the bill for the treatment of the country's citizens.
Harare East legislator Tendai Biti (Citizens Coalition for Change) said the country's health system was in a sorry state, hence Chiwenga should issue an explanation.
"My point of national interest is on the conditions in public hospitals. I was at Parirenyatwa Hospital recently and the doctors are forcing you to buy everything: bandages, syringes and painkillers," Biti said. "The public health system in Zimbabwe has collapsed. Yesterday (Wednesday) in this House, we heard that in Chipinge, they are taking citizens bitten by dogs to Mozambique to get treated. It's a national crisis. There are no dialysis machines and there is no basic equipment in our hospital.
"In South Africa, we got the video clip of the MEC saying what is wrong with the health system in our country. Can the Minister of Health be summoned to this august House to present a state of the status of our health and how the government is going to deal with this issue?"
Deputy Speaker of Parliament Tsitsi Gezi said: "Can the government chief whip pass the message to the responsible minister."
In 1985, the World Health Organisation declared that the Zimbabwean healthcare system was among the best in the developing world.
However, most of the gains have been reversed by years of underfunding, a high brain drain and poor working conditions.
Source - NewsDay Zimbabwe
