FINANCE minister Patrick Chinamasa has admitted that government’s failure to adequately fund the health sector has forced elderly people and underage children admitted at public health institutions to buy their own medical supplies, including drugs.
BY VENERANDA LANGA
Chinamasa, in his mid-term fiscal review statement last week, said under normal circumstances, elderly people and children under the age of five years were supposed to receive free treatment at public hospitals.
He said the Global Fund in 2016 disbursed $146,4 million in support of improved domestic health delivery through the United Nations Development Fund for health interventions.
“Of this amount, $139 million was disbursed under the HIV/Aids grant for the procurement of medicines, pharmaceuticals as well as payment of retention allowances to health sector staff,” Chinamasa said.
“Under the malaria grant, $9,2 million was disbursed in 2016 towards the control of malaria, benefiting procurement of chemicals for spraying against mosquitoes, procurement of tents, training of health workers on the new treatment regimens, and enhanced malaria control re-orientation programmes for school health co-ordinators, among others,” he said.
Other funds that were disbursed in 2016 include the tuberculosis (TB) grant of $8,4 million for procurement of digital X-ray machines for district and mission hospitals, renovation of 20 additional TB infection control sites, and others.
Another $5 million was disbursed for procurement of solar systems for 200 health facilities, targeting maternity wards, laboratories and district health information centres and a further $2,4 million was disbursed towards the construction of a warehouse in Masvingo.
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In 2016, Chinamasa said health delivery also benefited from support under the Health Development Fund administered by the United Nations Children’s Fund amounting to $52,6 million, which went towards the procurement of essential drugs for maternal, adolescent as well as sexual and reproductive health interventions.
“The 2017 budget introduced a Health Fund Levy of five cents for every dollar of mobile airtime and data, under the theme Talk, Surf and Save a Life, and accordingly $8,2 million has been mobilised to date for the purchase of drugs and equipment for public hospitals and clinics,” Chinamasa said.
