IN March 2026, medical practitioners will be honoured at one of the best medical awards ceremonies in the country.
All those who did well in the medical field will be honoured, a step I personally think is important in motivating our heroes in the medical field.
There is strong relationship between the private and public health systems in the country.
In 1980, Zimbabwe’s health delivery service was chiefly public, with government being in control of the health of the entire country.
It was a taboo for one to be found operating as a private practitioner.
The culture spread quietly until around 1992 when private medical practitioners gradually increased in number, contributing to about 7% of national health delivery system, with the public sector contributing a magnificent 93%.
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These were the days of a notorious and unpopular national policy, the Economic Structural Adjustment Programme which recommended the introduction of user fees in healthcare facilities and the removal of government subsidies.
It was a huge turning point for the country, coupled with a devastating drought that brought the country to its knees.
Today, the population has gone past 16,3 million, a sharp rise of about eight million people at independence.
Public health service delivery is struggling with poor infrastructure, obsolete equipment, brain drain, high disease burden.
Many medical practitioners are resilient to the challenges bedevilling the health sector and are dedicated to serving the nation.
A country without good health is said to be ailing hence no proper development can take place.
The combination of both the private and public health sectors is a milestone that needs to be celebrated because the country has managed to hold on despite negative publicity.
Zimbabwe managed to contain COVID-19 better than many countries in the world, a development that baffled prophets of doom who thought we would be decimated as a country.
Zimbabwe can still perform game-changing surgeries and our clinicians can compete at global forums in the world.
It is a no brainer that Zimbabwe has a lot of talented, trained, skilled and experienced doctors who can compete on the world stage, but are merely limited by lack of resources and equipment especially in the public sector.
Many countries have come to fish out our experienced health workers by offering lucrative working conditions, leaving the country with depleted workforce.
A strong health workforce is one of the prescribed six pillars of a strong health delivery system globally.
Our government has a huge task if our health delivery system is to be competitive even in the region.
More quaternary healthcare facilities should be constructed to accommodate the ballooning population, drug supplies should be enhanced while our health information systems should be upgraded.
Our health financing should be robust and gaps should be closed so that critical areas of health service are not left out.
The Finance ministry should make sure the health sector is allocated adequate funds if we are to remain afloat as a country.
The private medical sector has lacked government support for time immemorial.
There is basically very little that government has done to develop the private sector, leaving the private sector with no option except to look for capital on its own.
There are no smiles when one wants to borrow from financial institutions, interest rates are extortionate and many private practitioners have no collateral to use when borrowing.
This is tragic for a country that aims to have second to none medical care in few years to come.
The government has failed to offer private practitioners even simple incentives like vehicle rebate, stands or any type of land that can motivate them to continue working for the country.
The Gross Domestic Product does not segregate goods and services from the private sector.
At one time, I got surprised to see that private practitioners were not invited to important national health forums yet they contribute close to 40% of medical practice.
When the country is in need of vital statistics, it is unfortunate if contributions from the private sector are not considered because many patients are attended to there.
Policymakers should appreciate the significance of private medical practitioners.
It is time unnecessary tariffs are removed from private medical practice.
It is thus imperative to reward medical practitioners in this country.
Lack of recognition is proving catastrophic for the country as many of them remain demotivated for long, resulting in brain drain.
Those who look down upon medical practitioners will realise their importance one day when health disasters strike.
All of us are fragile and it is not long before we are physically incapacitated.