Online Reporter
Takunda Gambiza
Herald Reporter
ZIMBABWE has approved 8 785 new health worker posts for 2026 as the Government intensifies efforts to strengthen the country’s strained health sector and meet targets under the Health Workforce Investment Compact.
Speaking at the Human Resources for Health Dialogue Meeting in Harare, Health and Child Care Minister Dr Douglas Mombeshora said the country was pushing to build a resilient and adequately financed health workforce amid growing local and global pressure on health systems.
Dr Mombeshora said Zimbabwe’s vision to attain upper-middle-income status by 2030 depended on a strong health sector supported by a skilled and motivated workforce.
He said the Government had adopted the Health Workforce Strategy 2023-2030 and the Health Workforce Investment Compact 2024-2026 to guide reforms and investments in the sector.
“Through the compact, Zimbabwe is committed to doubling the health workforce by 2030, creating and sustaining 32 000 new posts, reducing attrition by 50 percent and expanding annual training output to at least 7 000 graduates,” said Dr Mombeshora.
The minister said the Government had already prioritised the absorption of 1 292 critical health cadres into the Ministry’s establishment following reductions in external funding support, while a further 532 positions were earmarked for future integration.
He added that authorities had also developed a US$11,8 million health workforce retention scheme targeting mainly rural health workers through improved accommodation, welfare support and career development opportunities.
Dr Mombeshora said nearly 5 000 trainees were admitted in 2025 as the Government expanded institutional capacity and modernised training infrastructure.
However, he warned that delayed funding disbursements continued to affect recruitment, retention and support systems.
“Treasury approval for more than 5 000 posts was a commendable step, but recruitment processes must now be expedited to ensure these positions translate into actual service delivery improvements on the ground,” he said.
Deputy Finance Minister Kudakwashe Mnangagwa announced that Treasury had already recruited and deployed about 3 700 health workers from the 5 284 posts allocated in 2025.
“I’m pleased to formally announce that Treasury has approved 8 785 new health worker posts for 2026,” he said.
“To show our commitment to immediate implementation, Treasury concurrence for the 2026 financial framework will be finalised this week.”
Deputy Minister Mnangagwa said the Government was balancing health sector demands against a constrained fiscal environment but remained committed to sustainable investment in the sector.
He said Treasury had also implemented salary adjustments for health workers in April 2026 and was exploring non-monetary incentives such as improved working conditions, staff accommodation and career development to improve retention.
“We successfully absorbed 3 500 village health workers onto the national payroll by the end of 2025, while also exploring innovative financing models, including health taxes and sugar-related levies, to sustainably support community health structures,” he said
Director of Finance in the Ministry of Finance, Ms Lynette Tennis, said the Government had committed about US$1,67 billion towards the health workforce compact over three years.
“To date, we are about two and a quarter years into the commitment and we have received a total amount of about US$869 million towards our commitment,” she said.
Ms Tennis said utilisation rates had improved significantly, reaching 99 percent in 2026.
“We noticed that retention and migration management is the dominant programme under the compact,” she said.
