Call to promote primary healthcare

availing financial assistance.
Speaking at a stakeholders conference under the theme “Joining Hands Towards Health Care” in Nyanga last week, the Deputy Minister of Health and Child Welfare, Dr Douglas Mombeshora, said that the quest to achieve quality in the health sector involved primary health care, sustainability, prevention and affordability.

“I urge all Association of Health Funders of Zimbabwe members to make deliberate efforts to deal with the issue of preventive health care,” he said.
“This is important considering the resurgence of Non-Communicable Diseases in Africa and in Zimbabwe.”
Dr Mombeshora said that one major problem in the country was the medical costs and therefore the Government, as the regulator, would play its part in creating an environment that was conducive.

He said that the health sector had always been allowed to self regulate, however, Government expected sound self-regulation to stop the situation where by people had to go out of the country to seek health services.
“A major concern is that of affordability of healthcare services in this country,” said Dr Mombeshora. “Costs continue to force people to seek treatment outside the country, especially where cases of surgery are concerned,” he said.

“In most cases, people are given quotations for surgery, the next thing they are on the road to South Africa or India where the prices will cost almost half of the local quote.”
Speaking at the same occasion, the chief executive of AHFoZ, Ms Shylet Sanyanga, said that it was important for Zimbabwe to be at par with the delivery system of other countries in the region.
“It is important to realise that the world is a global village, and we should always benchmark our performance against our peers in the region and the rest of the world in terms of subscription levels, claims costs and

health outcomes,” she said.
“We should never lose sight of the comparison of how respective economies are performing.”

Ms Sanyanga said that the theme sought to draw the expertise and commitment of all the key stakeholders in the health care supply chain in their different capacities and roles.

Delegates from Botswana, South Africa and Namibia were also present.