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Keith N. Guzah
In the introduction to the 2006 paper “An examination of the relationship between health and economic growth” by Garima Mali, director and CEO of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, Rajiv Kumar states that: “Good health is an asset that allows poor households to emerge from poverty.”
Mali notes that: “The greatest challenge of the 21st century is to provide every human being on the planet with a long, healthy and fulfilling life, free of poverty and full of opportunities to participate in the activities of their community.”
On health, Zimbabwe faces a stern situation especially so after the land reform programme of 2000. Only recently, Health Services Board officials, appearing before a Parliamentary Portfolio Committee, brought the issue to the fore.
“The country has gone through an agrarian reform and this has basically meant people have been moved from their villages with established infrastructure into the jungle with nothing at all,” said HSB executive chairperson Dr Lovemore Mbengeranwa
Zimbabwe’s population, he said, required 33 000 health professionals but there were presently only 24 000.
He said there were only 82 specialist consultants against an establishment of 347 while 814 doctors were employed against an establishment of 1 220.
According to his submission, for the Ministry of Health and Child Care to achieve goals set in the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation, the HSB said there was need for Treasury to unfreeze vacant posts, increase the staff establishment by 2015, create primary care nurses posts for mission and council health facilities, and improve salaries.
Many studies have shown that Zimbabwe is beset by numerous challenges relating to shortage of skilled professionals, infrastructure and equipment and has been overstretched in times of crisis and epidemics.
However, Zimbabweans have to seize the opportunity to make the change and the business sector in particular should be proactive in helping country discharge its health responsibilities to provide affordable healthcare to the different people who are in economic distress which prevents them from accessing affordable medical services.
The concept of “Doctors without Constituencies” is very apt at this juncture.
National Business Council of Zimbabwe has forged a partnership with healthcare professionals to bring medical relief to a wide cross-section of people given that the vast majority of the people in the country are living in poverty.
The model works by organising periodic events where doctors visit specific areas of need and offer medical treatment at subsidised costs.
A consortium of doctors will conduct due diligence on the equipment and drugs that are required for specific pathologies, business projections, compile standards and compile any suggestions which will help in the successful implementation of the programme.
On the other hand, business will lobby Government and the Ministry of Health for logistical assistance in the implementation of the programme, lobby donor organisations, private sector and individuals for drugs to be used by doctors on the field, organise venues for the implementation of the medical outreach programmes, among other imperatives.
The NBCZ and doctors also recognise that many trained doctors have left the country soon after their housemanship and the country continues to not only train doctors but also to spend much taxpayers revenue to educate more and more doctors who end up working in the same countries that are imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe.
This situation short-changes Zimbabwean taxpayers who funded the education of most of the current doctors under the Government’s people centred development initiatives.
Indeed Zim-Asset acknowledges “The near collapse of public service delivery… and massive skills flight” (Zim-Asset p61).Without some other intervention, the situation is not sustainable and the national health delivery system will continue to lag behind.
The concept of “doctors without constituencies” will subsidize not only the people’s health budgets, but also to subsidise the efforts of the government as it works towards the full implementation of ZimAsset.
Doctors will also systematically penetrate the different sections of society who do not normally have access to doctors and see for themselves the different health conditions in their source environments which will not only deepen their understanding of the causal root of health challenges that eventually comes to the referral hospitals and the surgeries, but also sample the pathological terrain among people who were not going to visit the hospitals.
It is time to work on the health of the people for a healthy economy.
Dr Guzah is empowerment and socio-economic transformation advocate.
Such data is vital for the creation of a formidable health system.
The doctors themselves tend to benefit from economies of scale and the availability of ready markets for their skills thereby increasing the absolute amounts of revenue they collect.
The constituencies will benefit from lower consultation costs, complete removal of transaction costs like transport and selected medicines.
NBCZ and doctors without constituencies will mobilise drug manufacturing companies and pharmacies in the country and beyond to supply drugs for the programme.
It is time to work on the health of the people for a healthy economy.
- Dr Guzah is empowerment and socio-economic transformation advocate.
Online Reporter