Mnangagwa's hospital tour confirms health system collapse

The Zimbabwe Nurses Association (ZINA) has described President Emmerson Mnangagwa's recent tour of major hospitals as a clear confirmation that the country's public health system is in total collapse, urgently requiring government intervention to prevent further suffering and loss of life.

Mnangagwa's surprise visit to Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals and Sally Mugabe Central Hospital earlier this week exposed a dire reality for patients and health workers alike - one that nurses have long warned about. The visit, which came amid mounting public pressure and without the accompaniment of Health Minister Douglas Mombeshora, followed a call from Youth Minister Tino Machakaire urging the president to personally witness the deteriorating conditions in the country's medical institutions.

ZINA president Enock Dongo said the president's visit merely validated what the association has repeatedly raised: that hospitals are operating in crisis, stripped of basic medicines, diagnostic tools, and adequate staff support.

"Public hospitals have no medication. Patients are told to buy their own drugs or supplies - things that should be readily available. People are dying from diseases that are easily treatable, not because the medical personnel lack knowledge, but because the system is starved of the most basic necessities," said Dongo in a statement.

He said nurses are working under extreme and inhumane conditions. Some walk to work on empty stomachs, return home to starving families, and endure exhausting shifts for paltry wages.

"Diagnostic centres are practically non-functional. Even basic laboratory tests are unavailable in many hospitals, and patients are being referred to private clinics they cannot afford. Meanwhile, nurses are left helpless in public wards where patients wait endlessly, in pain, without treatment," he said.

During his tour, Mnangagwa walked through wards with shattered windows, beds without blankets, and waterless corridors. Doctors and nurses shared stories of daily struggles - of turning away patients due to non-functioning X-ray machines, broken diagnostic equipment, and crumbling infrastructure.

Patients are reportedly being referred to private facilities simply because government hospitals are unable to conduct even the most basic procedures. This, Dongo said, has led to preventable deaths and growing public distrust in the public health sector.

He added that chronic underfunding has decimated morale among health workers, while poor remuneration has triggered an exodus of skilled professionals in search of better opportunities abroad.

"The government has for too long ignored the urgent needs of the health sector, and what we are seeing today is the tragic result - avoidable deaths, failing infrastructure, and a burnt-out, underpaid workforce trying to hold the system together," he said.

Mnangagwa also visited NatPharm, the State-run pharmaceutical supply agency tasked with distributing medication to public hospitals. The agency itself has come under scrutiny for shortages and inefficiencies in the delivery of critical drugs.

ZINA has called on the government to act swiftly, urging comprehensive reforms to address shortages, improve working conditions, and restore confidence in Zimbabwe's health system.

"The president has seen it with his own eyes. Now we wait to see whether there will be action, or whether this visit will be remembered as just another PR gesture while the system crumbles further," Dongo said.