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Wallace Ruzvidzo Herald Reporter
Continued investments in the country’s health sector will lead to Zimbabwe’s gross domestic product growing by at least 2 percent, Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Mthuli Ncube said yesterday in an interview.
Under the Second Republic, Zimbabwe has seen unprecedented investments in the health sector, which have dramatically improved the quality of health services, as well as the availability of medicines.
In an interview on the sidelines of the child budgeting high level policy dialogue of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) during the meeting on HIV funding sustainability in Zimbabwe at the ongoing International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA 2023), Prof Ncube said a healthy Zimbabwe would see the country continue its current economic growth.
“Expenditure in the health sector is not just expenditure, it is an investment,” he said. “And when you invest in people they live longer, especially those living with HIV using anti-retroviral drugs; they work, contribute taxes and they even start businesses.
“In fact, from some work that I did in the past in Uganda, I found that we can increase GDP growth by 2 percent, just by investing in health.”
Prof Mthuli said to continue ensuring support for combating HIV and AIDS, Zimbabwe’s AIDS levy would remain in place, and now a tax on sugar had also been proposed to start a cancer fund.
“Investing in HIV is even more important so for us as Government we have to maintain the 3 percent AIDS levy. It has to stay there so that we can support HIV programmes
“But also we have to continue to innovate around the whole health sector. So for example this sugar tax that we are proposing for the 2024 budget is a good thing because out of that we are going to create a cancer fund so that we can respond to cancer,” he said.
Another 30 health facilities would be built, as the Second Republic continues its infrastructure development drive. Prof Ncube reiterated that an investment in the health sector was an investment in Zimbabwe’s economic growth.
“But also we are going to do more in terms of building the health sector infrastructure. For instance the NMS facility where we will build a hospital in Harare’s South, Cowdry Park, Zvishavane, Mataga and the Runyararo area in Chimanimani. “It is just the beginning, we are going to build 30 of these facilities plus six district hospitals.
“That has to continue but it is clear that investing in health is an investment in economic growth,” he said.
Health and Child Care Minister Dr Douglas Mombeshora said Government was committed to increasing HIV and AIDS financing, as well as financing for the whole health sector.
“The desire is to have a roadmap ready before the end of 2024 with a clear transition plan towards increasing domestic financing on HIV and health as a whole. Currently my Ministry is deploying a combination of strategies which include service integration where appropriate,” said Dr Mombeshora.
Private sector participation was key in the development of the country’s health sector, he said. “Private sector are key in this journey as well as communities as evidence has shown that interventions grown and led by communities are more sustainable,” said Dr Mombeshora. “My Ministry is therefore finalising a community health strategy which shall support sustainability work in future.”
Online Reporter