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Michell Zvanyanya, Chronicle Reporter
GOVERNMENT has said there is no discrimination in the distribution of medical equipment as the State is obliged to cater for the health care of its citizens regardless of their political affiliation.
Health and Child Care Minister, Dr Obadiah Moyo, said this while responding to legislators during the National Assembly’s Question and Answer Session on Wednesday afternoon.
Legislators had questioned him on whether Government was prioritising certain communities in the provision of medicines.
“As I said there is no favouritism when it comes to health. I receive requests from all political parties and all honourable members. I have always made sure that we give support to everyone. There is nowhere that we have said in this direction no, in this direction yes,” said Dr Moyo.
“Each and every province is covered. Whenever an individual or an honourable member requests for support, we will give him that support. There is no favouritism in as far as distribution of medical equipment is concerned.”
Dr Moyo further stated that Government was on a drive to re-equip its hospitals as most of them have obsolete equipment.
He said the future of improving the country’s health care lay in public private partnerships.
Dr Moyo said a good example of how public private partnerships work is in the turnaround model of Chitungwiza Central Hospital which even other countries now want to adopt.
“So, because of the shortage of foreign currency to acquire those pieces of equipment, we are also going on a public-private-partnership arrangement so that the companies or investors bring the equipment into the country and we work with them. I will give you a typical example of X-ray machines. We might have X-ray machines which might not be working, which are obsolete, so we ask a partner to bring in the X-ray machines and we merely buy the consumables like the X-ray films,” he said.— @michellzvanyanyan2
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