News / National
Zimbabwe reveals plans to increase number of nursing graduates
13 Sep 2024 at 08:07hrs | Views
The Zimbabwean government has announced an ambitious plan to more than double the number of nursing graduates by 2030 in response to the ongoing brain drain impacting health services.
Since 2019, over 5,000 health professionals, including doctors and nurses, have emigrated to the UK, with many more seeking opportunities in the US, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand due to better working conditions and higher pay. Locally, health professionals earn an average of US$255 per month, while those in the UK can make up to US$2,500.
Attempts to deter healthcare workers from leaving by imposing high fees for necessary documentation have proven ineffective. Promises to address these issues with the United Nations (UN) have yet to materialize.
At a recent post-cabinet media briefing, Information Minister Jenfan Muswere revealed that the government has approved a six-year plan proposed by Higher and Tertiary Education Minister Amon Murwira. This plan, known as the Health Workforce Strategy 2023-2030, aims to address the sector's challenges and support Zimbabwe's goal of becoming an upper-middle-income economy by 2030.
Muswere outlined the strategy's five key areas: Education, Training and Development; Deployment, Utilisation and Governance; Retention and Migration Management; Monitoring and Evaluation; ICT and Research; and Planning and Financing.
The strategy's Education, Training and Development pillar focuses on aligning training programs with sector needs, increasing annual training outputs from 3,334 in 2022 to at least 7,000 by 2030, integrating community health workers into the main workforce, and expanding training infrastructure.
Under the Retention and Migration Management pillar, the goal is to optimize remuneration to reduce the attrition rate by 2030.
Zimbabwe's health sector, long plagued by mismanagement and economic decline, faces severe shortages. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Zimbabwe is on the red list of countries experiencing critical health service deficits.
Since 2019, over 5,000 health professionals, including doctors and nurses, have emigrated to the UK, with many more seeking opportunities in the US, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand due to better working conditions and higher pay. Locally, health professionals earn an average of US$255 per month, while those in the UK can make up to US$2,500.
Attempts to deter healthcare workers from leaving by imposing high fees for necessary documentation have proven ineffective. Promises to address these issues with the United Nations (UN) have yet to materialize.
At a recent post-cabinet media briefing, Information Minister Jenfan Muswere revealed that the government has approved a six-year plan proposed by Higher and Tertiary Education Minister Amon Murwira. This plan, known as the Health Workforce Strategy 2023-2030, aims to address the sector's challenges and support Zimbabwe's goal of becoming an upper-middle-income economy by 2030.
Muswere outlined the strategy's five key areas: Education, Training and Development; Deployment, Utilisation and Governance; Retention and Migration Management; Monitoring and Evaluation; ICT and Research; and Planning and Financing.
The strategy's Education, Training and Development pillar focuses on aligning training programs with sector needs, increasing annual training outputs from 3,334 in 2022 to at least 7,000 by 2030, integrating community health workers into the main workforce, and expanding training infrastructure.
Under the Retention and Migration Management pillar, the goal is to optimize remuneration to reduce the attrition rate by 2030.
Zimbabwe's health sector, long plagued by mismanagement and economic decline, faces severe shortages. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Zimbabwe is on the red list of countries experiencing critical health service deficits.
Source - NewZimbabwe
