Zimbabwe clinics sit on unused Starlink kits

Hundreds of hospitals and clinics across Zimbabwe have been equipped with Starlink satellite internet kits under a government drive to improve healthcare connectivity, but many facilities are unable to use the service because they cannot afford the monthly subscription fees, Parliament heard on Wednesday.

The issue was raised in the National Assembly by Kariba MP Shine Gwangwaba (CCC), who said health institutions had received the equipment but lacked the resources to activate the service.

"Hospitals have been given Starlink kits but they cannot afford to subscribe, they are just keeping them," Gwangwaba told Parliament during oral questions without notice.

He asked government what measures were being considered to help hospitals meet the recurring subscription costs.

Health and Child Care Minister Dr Douglas Mombeshora acknowledged the challenge, saying the ministry was aware that many facilities could not sustain the monthly payments despite having received the equipment.

"Indeed, we have received those challenges and we are engaging the agents to lower the subscriptions so that we can pay for all those Starlink kits that we will install," Mombeshora said.

He said negotiations with the service provider were underway but did not indicate when they would be concluded.

Earlier, Mombeshora told legislators that more than 400 clinics had already been equipped with solar power systems and Starlink internet kits under the government's rural health infrastructure programme.

He said the initiative is expected to be expanded to more than 700 clinics nationwide.

Chinhoyi MP Leslie Mhangwa (CCC) proposed that the monthly subscription costs be funded through the Universal Services Fund (USF), a levy-funded programme administered to expand telecommunications access in underserved communities.

The fund already subsidises internet connectivity for schools, libraries and telecommunications base stations in remote areas.

Information, Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services Minister Tatenda Mavetera said the proposal was worth pursuing.

She explained that while the USF currently finances internet subscriptions for digital centres and schools, the support is generally limited to one year and does not presently extend to health institutions.

"We also need to do the same for hospitals, which I think is worth considering," Mavetera said.

She told Parliament she would engage the Ministry of Health and Child Care to explore whether hospitals could also benefit from the fund.

No timeline was provided for a decision on extending Universal Services Fund support or resolving the subscription funding challenges, leaving many of the installed Starlink terminals idle despite the government's investment in expanding digital healthcare infrastructure.