Online Reporter
Tendai Gukutikwa
Health Reporter
ZIMBABWE’S life expectancy has risen dramatically from just 48 years to an average of 65, a development the Government has attributed to improved healthcare delivery, expanded medical infrastructure, and successful disease control programmes nationwide.
In an interview in Mutare last week, Health and Child Care Minister, Dr Douglas Mombeshora, said the steady rise is clear evidence that interventions under the National Development Strategy are bearing fruit.
“Currently, our life expectancy averages around 65 years. Women are at 68, while men are still dying earlier at 61. Before, it was so low that the average was 48. It has been climbing steadily until where we are today,” explained Dr Mombeshora.
Life expectancy, which refers to the average number of years a person is expected to live, is widely regarded as a key indicator of a population’s overall health and wellbeing.
Zimbabwe’s upward trend reflects progress in access to healthcare, disease prevention and treatment, maternal health services, and infrastructure development.
Dr Mombeshora said the figures demonstrate that Government interventions are working and that the health of citizens is steadily improving.
“We are not yet where we want to be, but we are getting there. The trend is positive, and we are encouraged,” he said, expressing optimism that the country will continue to improve health outcomes if ongoing reforms and investments are sustained.
Looking ahead, the Dr Mombeshora projected even greater gains.
“Very soon our life expectancy could reach 85 years on average. We still have a long way to go, but we are moving in the right direction,” he said.
He attributed part of the improvement to significant investment in strengthening healthcare infrastructure at village, district, and provincial levels, ensuring that services are closer to the people and more accessible than ever before.
The rise in life expectancy is therefore not just a statistical achievement—it is a reflection of lives being extended, families being sustained, and communities being strengthened.
It underscores the importance of continued investment in healthcare as Zimbabwe marches toward Vision 2030, with healthier citizens forming the backbone of an upper middle-income economy.
Dr Mombeshora said Government has intensified the refurbishment of rural health centres and clinics, while equipping district hospitals with modern medical equipment.
“We continue consolidating the gains achieved under the first National Health Strategy. That includes infrastructure development at all levels. We have been refurbishing health centres at village level and clinics in the villages. We are also working on district hospitals, equipping them with the relevant equipment. I think we are now at about 75 percent in equipping our district hospitals with new equipment,” he said, adding that availability of modern equipment at district hospitals had improved service delivery and eased pressure on major referral hospitals.
Dr Mombeshora said improving district-level services has also contributed to reductions in maternal mortality and better emergency healthcare.
“If we do not improve those areas, especially theatres, many of our mothers will be unable to have caesarean sections and maternal mortality will rise. I think we have done well in those areas because we use indices like life expectancy and maternal mortality, which have improved,” he said.
The Minister said Zimbabwe had also continued to record success in the fight against HIV and AIDS, another factor driving higher life expectancy. He said the country had met the global HIV 95-95-95 targets, which measure testing, treatment and viral suppression among people living with HIV.
“We have sustained the HIV 95-95-95 targets and these are real achievements. They represent lives saved and dignity restored,” said Dr Mombeshora.
He said the Government was now focusing on consolidating gains made under the first National Health Strategy while scaling up delivery under the National Health Strategy 2026–2030.
He said digitisation would play a central role in modernising services and improving efficiency in hospitals and clinics.
“We are working on digitising our health sector. We started with electronic health records and are now moving into clinical areas. We are also developing telemedicine, and those are the areas we are now concentrating on,” he said.
Dr Mombeshora said strengthening the health workforce remained a top priority as Zimbabwe seeks to improve service delivery and access. He said authorities aimed to double the number of health workers by 2030.
“One of the most important areas is our human resources. We are looking at doubling our health workers by 2030. That means we must increase training and also retain those we train,” he said.
Dr Mombeshora acknowledged that challenges such as financial constraints, medicine shortages and unequal access in some rural communities still required urgent attention.
