Doctors urge Mnangagwa to launch Commission of Inquiry into health sector

The Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) has called on President Emmerson Mnangagwa to establish a Commission of Inquiry into the state of the country's public health sector following his recent visits to Parirenyatwa and Sally Mugabe Hospitals.

Doctors highlighted the deteriorating conditions in public hospitals, marked by severe shortages of essential medicines, malfunctioning medical equipment, and low morale among healthcare workers. They believe the president's hospital tours offered a crucial opportunity to witness these challenges firsthand and urged decisive action to address them.

"ZADHR believes that the visit provided President Mnangagwa with an opportunity to appreciate, first-hand, the state of public health service delivery in Zimbabwe, which is generally plagued by dilapidated infrastructure, shortages of drugs and consumables, and demoralised human resources," the association said in a statement.

The proposed Commission of Inquiry would investigate the delivery of health services by government and related agencies to ensure compliance with constitutional obligations, particularly section 76, which guarantees the right to healthcare for all citizens.

ZADHR called for the inquiry to scrutinize current health financing models, evaluate Zimbabwe's progress on commitments under the Abuja Declaration, and assess the use of health-related levies such as the "sugar tax." The commission should also explore challenges related to staffing and remuneration in referral hospitals.

"The process must be robust with full engagement of public health institutions, health workers, communities, and other relevant stakeholders. Citizens must also be allowed to give evidence of their actual experiences of the health sector," the doctors added.

The call comes amid growing unrest among healthcare professionals. Recently, nurses issued a public statement describing their working conditions as "impossible," saying they are forced to improvise daily to save lives.

"As nurses, we are working under impossible conditions. We are forced to improvise daily just to preserve life. But we cannot continue like this. The system has failed, and the suffering is unbearable," they said.

The nurses urged the government to urgently prioritise the health sector by adequately equipping hospitals, supporting healthcare workers, and taking swift measures to improve patient care.

The Zimbabwean public and health experts alike await the government's response as the nation grapples with an increasingly fragile healthcare system.