31/08/2026
MOHCC CALLS FOR STRONGER ACCOUNTABILITY, TEAMWORK AND ACTION TO DELIVER BETTER HEALTH SERVICES
The Ministry of Health and Child Care has called for stronger accountability, teamwork, efficiency and decisive action as it reviews its performance and charts the way forward towards achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by 2030.
Speaking at the Ministry’s Internal Review and Strategic Planning Meeting in Bulawayo, Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care, Hon. S. T. Kwidini, said the meeting should go beyond reviewing reports and activities, and instead provide an opportunity for the Ministry to honestly confront challenges and agree on practical solutions.
He said the National Health Strategy 2026–2030 provides the strategic direction, but the priority now is to translate the strategy into measurable improvements in service delivery.
“We cannot allow explanations to substitute for solutions,” Hon. Kwidini said.
He emphasised that the health sector’s challenges are interconnected, with financing affecting procurement, procurement affecting medicines availability, human resources affecting service delivery, and infrastructure influencing the quality of care.
He called for stronger collaboration between the Ministry and the Health Service Commission (HSC), as well as improved coordination among national departments, programmes, provinces, hospitals and institutions.
At the centre of this effort, he said, must be the citizen.
“People do not experience our organisational structures or reporting arrangements. They experience the health facility,” Hon. Kwidini said, highlighting the importance of medicines being available, health workers being present, ambulances responding when needed and patients receiving care with dignity.
The Deputy Minister also announced that the Ministry, working with the HSC, will undertake measures to restructure and realign operations and functions to strengthen effectiveness, accountability and efficiency.
He stressed that the process is not simply about changing structures, but about ensuring that the Ministry has the right functions, systems and people in the right positions to deliver its mandate.
The Secretary for the Health Service Commission, Dr C. P. Pasi, reinforced the call for citizen centred performance, describing the citizen as the “empty chair” in the meeting room.
He said the empty chair represents every Zimbabwean who depends on the public health system, from a pregnant woman travelling long distances to a rural clinic, to a child awaiting immunisation and an elderly citizen seeking care and dignity.
“If the citizen does not experience improved health services, then our plans are merely documents,” Dr Pasi said.
Dr Pasi said Zimbabwe’s health sector must remain focused on its commitment to UHC, including the target of achieving a Universal Health Coverage Service Coverage Index of 80 by 2030.
He noted that the creation of 14,069 additional health workforce posts, investments in workforce development, leadership training, digital systems and retention strategies provide an important foundation for strengthening the health system.
However, he cautioned that expanding the workforce must ultimately translate into better services for citizens.
The HSC Secretary challenged managers to execute with urgency, manage using data, take ownership, invest in people and lead with integrity.
He urged managers to know their performance indicators, vacancy rates, medicines availability, maternal and neonatal outcomes and financial performance, stressing that evidence must guide decision making.
He also challenged every manager to identify at least one measurable improvement that can be attributed to their leadership by the time the Ministry meets again next year.
As the Ministry prepares its 2027 Annual Plan, the meeting is therefore expected to focus on practical priorities, clear responsibilities, measurable targets and timelines for implementation.
The message from the leadership is clear, Zimbabwe’s health transformation will not be achieved by plans and strategies alone. It will be achieved through disciplined ex*****on, teamwork, accountability and an unwavering focus on the citizen.
