THE Presidential hospital rehabilitation programme has done little to address the deteriorating colonial-era infrastructure at public health institutions, undermining the delivery of quality healthcare across the country, the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) has said.
The government initiative, launched in June 2025 following public outcry over the dire state of health facilities, targets major referral hospitals and rural health centres under the National Development Strategy 2.
Facilities earmarked for rehabilitation include Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, Mpilo Central Hospital and Sally Mugabe Central Hospital.
However, the programme is yet to deliver meaningful improvements, with many hospitals still battling crumbling infrastructure, equipment shortage and deteriorating service conditions, raising concern about government’s ability to modernise the public health system.
Reports indicate that the rehabilitation of the hospitals was expected to be complete by the first quarter of this year, but the position on the ground is that renovations at various stages of completion.
ZHRC chairperson Jessie Majome said the country’s health system was grappling with deep-rooted structural challenges despite policy and legal progress.
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“Celebrating health comes at a time when the sector is under strain,” Majome said in a speech to mark World Health Day on Tuesday.
“Some of the challenges impeding enjoyment of the right to healthcare in the country are shortages of drugs for chronic conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, mental health as well as essential sundries.
“Infrastructure at many hospitals built in the colonial era is in a state of disrepair with critical shortages of diagnostic machines such as CT scanners and dialysis machines, lack of functional mortuaries and outdated incinerators. Water and sanitation as well as staff welfare crises characterise the public healthcare delivery system."
The commission’s remarks come amid ongoing unrest in the public health sector, with nurses and other healthcare workers recently protesting at major hospitals over low salaries and poor working conditions.
According to ZHRC, health facilities are also battling dysfunctional mortuaries, outdated incinerators and poor water and sanitation systems, alongside worsening staff welfare concerns.
ZHRC warned that without urgent intervention to modernise infrastructure and address resource gaps, Zimbabwe risks further erosion of healthcare standards, despite constitutional guarantees.
Community Working Group on Health director Itai Rusike said government must commit to health as a human right and mobilise domestic resources to fund its accessible to all.
“No country has made significant progress towards universal health coverage without relying on a dominant share of public funds to finance health,” he said.
“The inadequate public financing of health has resulted in an overreliance on out-of-pocket and external financing, which is highly unsustainable.”
The Health and Child Care ministry was allocated ZiG30,4 billion in the 2026 national budget.
The allocation represents roughly 15% of the budget, aligning with the Abuja Declaration, a continental commitment aimed at improving health services and strengthening national health systems.
“Currently there is a bias towards curative interventions and this is not sustainable. It must be corrected through greater investment in preventive care,” Rusike said.
“As part of the process of expanding coverage to a larger proportion, it is imperative that human resources for health planning takes into account demographic trends and developments.
“Appropriate incentives must be designed to ensure equitable distribution across urban and rural areas ensuring access to underserved populations.”