Life expectancy of women in Zimbabwe increases to 68 years

According to the National Health Strategy Performance Report for 2021-2024 presented to Cabinet, there has been an improvement in female life expectancy at birth in Zimbabwe, rising from 66.5 years to 68 years. Meanwhile, male life expectancy remains at 61 years. The report attributes the prolonged lives and improved quality of livelihoods largely to the availability of medicines in hospitals and clinics, which are mostly accessed by women known for their proactive health-seeking behaviors compared to men.

Information Minister Jenfan Muswere highlighted that Health and Child Care Minister Douglas Mombeshora presented the report to Cabinet for review. The availability of essential medicines in health facilities also saw an increase, from 51% in 2020 to 54.1% in 2021, with nearly 96% of public health facilities having at least 80% of essential medicines in stock by the second quarter of 2022.

Zimbabwe has made significant strides in combating HIV/AIDS, with 98% of people living with HIV receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) in 2021. The AIDS mortality rate has continued to decline, and Zimbabwe was removed from the World Health Organization's list of 30 high-tuberculosis burden countries due to successful efforts in reducing TB cases.

Additionally, malaria incidence has sharply decreased by 70% over the past three years, from 32 cases per 1,000 population in 2020 to 9 cases per 1,000 in 2022. The government is upgrading and expanding the public health system, with over 78% of district hospitals now having fully operational theatres for emergency maternity surgery, and 93% equipped with kits for resuscitating newborn babies.

Overall, the Health Sector has made significant progress towards achieving the targets set in the National Health Strategy (2021-2025), signaling positive developments in public health outcomes across Zimbabwe.