ZIMBABWE’S HEALTH SECTOR IS FALLING APART

Zimbabwe’s health sector is broken. This is no secret. But now, after 45 years under Zanu PF, it has become even worse. The country is going backwards, back to a time when people had no hospitals or proper treatment.

A picture that has been shared widely shows a patient in a hospital with a broken limb wrapped in a cardboard box and tape. This is shocking. It shows how far Zimbabwe has fallen. Hospitals no longer have what they need to help people. The whole health sector is in crisis, just like the rest of the country.

Zimbabwe’s hospitals are empty of medicine and basic equipment. There is no proper funding, and many doctors and nurses are leaving. They are going to other countries where they can be paid well and work in better conditions. Because of this, there are very few skilled medical workers left in Zimbabwe, especially specialists. Hospitals have now become places where people go to die.

Something as simple as bandages and painkillers is hard to find in hospitals. Many people do not get the treatment they need. Diseases that should be easy to control are now taking many lives.

This is not new. In 2008, Zimbabwe had a terrible cholera outbreak. The disease spread fast and killed 4,288 people. That outbreak lasted from August 2008 to July 2009. But even now, things have not changed. Between 2023 and 2024, another 700 people died from cholera. How can a country allow the same thing to happen again and again?

The problem is not just disease outbreaks. The entire system is collapsing. The government does not give enough money to hospitals. Instead, Zimbabwe depends on donors from other countries to keep the health sector running.

Countries like the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Sweden send money to Zimbabwe through the Health Development Fund. This fund, managed by UNICEF, helps pay for maternal and child health care. Other organisations like the United Nations Population Fund and Global Fund also help. Without these donors, the health system would not even survive.

According to reports, about 25% of Zimbabwe’s health budget comes from donors. That means a quarter of all money spent on healthcare is from foreign countries. But most of this money is not for all medical services. It is focused on certain diseases, like HIV/Aids, malaria, and maternal health.

The situation could get even worse. The United States once helped Zimbabwe a lot through the President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR). But the US government has decided to reduce this funding. When this money stops coming, the impact will be felt across the country. Many people who rely on this help will suffer.

The crisis is even worse in rural areas. Many people in these areas have no access to doctors or proper treatment. Some travel long distances to the nearest hospital, only to find there are no medicines or doctors to help them.

Zimbabwe faces a big health crisis. People suffer from both infectious diseases like HIV/Aids, tuberculosis, and malaria, and also from non-communicable diseases. But the government has failed to fix the situation. Hospitals are underfunded, understaffed, and empty. Many people die not because their sickness cannot be treated, but because there are no resources to help them.

Zanu PF has failed. The state of the health sector shows that the government does not care about the people. How can a country go back to using cardboard and tape instead of proper medical care? Zimbabwe has gone backwards, back to the Stone Age. And unless something changes, things will only get worse.