32 000 jobs for nurses, doctors

Government has intensified efforts to stabilise and rebuild the public health system, recruiting more than 5 000 health workers last year and unveiling plans to double the national health workforce by 2030, a move expected to create at least 32 000 public sector jobs.

The expansion is aimed at reducing waiting times at public health institutions and safeguarding access to care at a time when international funding, particularly from Western partners, continues to decline.

Health and Child Care Permanent Secretary Dr Aspect Maunganidze said the recruitment drive reflects a strategic shift towards a resilient, self-sustaining health system anchored on domestic financing and long-term planning.

"This is a deliberate move to build a health system that is largely funded and driven by our own resources," said Dr Maunganidze in an interview. "We are planning for sustainability in an environment where donor funding is shrinking."

He said President Mnangagwa is spearheading wide-ranging reforms in the health sector, aimed at addressing long-standing challenges in service delivery and improving essential social services.

Under the President's direction, Government has been equipping health institutions with modern medical machinery, rehabilitating infrastructure and improving conditions of service for health workers. Last year, President Mnangagwa made unannounced visits to Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, Sally Mugabe Hospital and the National Pharmaceutical Company to assess challenges facing the institutions.

The President has repeatedly said the Second Republic will continue modernising the health sector through sustained investment in advanced equipment and infrastructure to guarantee timely emergency care for all citizens.

Dr Maunganidze said Treasury had played a central role in supporting the workforce expansion.

"Treasury concurred with the additional costs associated with expanding the workforce. In 2025 alone, 5 284 posts across various cadres, including nurses, pharmacists and doctors, were availed. This was a significant achievement," he said.

By 2030, Government aims to have doubled the current health workforce, creating and sustaining at least 32 000 additional public health jobs. According to the Health Service Commission, the expansion could stimulate more than 100 000 indirect jobs across related sectors such as pharmaceuticals, transport, equipment maintenance and catering.

Zimbabwe's health sector has for years struggled with acute staffing shortages, particularly in rural areas, largely due to outward migration. Official assessments show the system is operating at about 47,5 percent of optimal capacity.

Nearly 20 percent of doctors trained in Zimbabwe are working abroad, while about 7 550 nurses, representing 35 percent of the nursing workforce, are employed outside the country. The 2022 Health Labour Market Analysis shows Zimbabwe has just over 22 health workers per 10 000 people, well below the global benchmark of 44.

Dr Maunganidze said reversing the trend required structural reform and long-term investment, anchored under the Human Resources for Health Investment Compact signed in October 2024.

"Our health professionals are highly sought after globally because they are well trained and practically competent," he said. "In response, we are strengthening and increasing the production of health workers, with the goal of doubling the workforce by 2030."

A key pillar of the strategy is decentralised training, particularly for nurses, to improve retention. Government has established more than five new nurse training schools, with almost every province now hosting or preparing to establish an institution.

Recruitment into nurse training has also been devolved to provinces and health institutions.

"People are more likely to serve in the communities where they grew up," said Dr Maunganidze. "Devolving recruitment strengthens devolution and improves retention."

Under the national plan, annual training output is expected to rise from 3 334 health workers in 2022 to at least 7 000 by 2030. Government is also working to professionalise and integrate community health workers into the mainstream health system.

The recruitment and training drive comes as donor funding declines, placing pressure on programmes covering HIV, tuberculosis, malaria and maternal and child health. Dr Maunganidze said this reality had reinforced the urgency of mobilising domestic resources.

"Guided by the Health Financing Dialogue, we mobilised local resources through institutions such as the National AIDS Council, ensuring uninterrupted care for people on antiretroviral therapy and those receiving TB and malaria treatment," he said.

Government has also strengthened partnerships with the local private sector to secure essential medicines, positioning Zimbabwe among the more organised countries in the region in managing priority disease programmes.

Beyond recruitment, authorities are focusing on improving working conditions to retain health workers.

"Frustration often comes from lack of equipment rather than remuneration alone," said Dr Maunganidze. "We have embarked on a major drive to equip facilities with theatre equipment, ventilators and incubators, which improves job satisfaction."

Infrastructure development is moving alongside workforce expansion. In 2025, major works were rolled out under the Presidential Hospital Renovation Scheme, beginning with Parirenyatwa School of Nursing and Mbuya Nehanda Maternity Hospital, before extending to Mpilo Central Hospital.

At community level, four new health centres in Mataga (Mberengwa), Runyararo, Cowdray Park and Stone Ridge have been commissioned in recent years, with additional facilities in Manhize, Chivi, Zaka and Bulilima scheduled from this year.

Government aims to reduce walking distances to health facilities from an average of 10 kilometres to five kilometres, particularly in rural areas.

Looking ahead, plans are also in place to construct district hospitals for Harare and Bulawayo metropolitan provinces between late 2026 and 2027.

"These hospitals will fill a critical gap between primary facilities and central hospitals," said Dr Maunganidze. "This middle-level referral infrastructure is essential for an efficient health system."

As Zimbabwe advances towards Vision 2030, Government says the rebuilding of the public health system is moving beyond policy commitments to visible change on the ground, facility by facility and community by community.