VP Chiwenga restructures Health Ministry

VP Chiwenga restructures Health Ministry

Vice President and health and Child Care Minister Retired General Chiwenga says the Health and Child Care Ministry is being restructured with a new sustainable funding model in order to ensure high levels of health service delivery.

Chiwenga who was recently appointed Minister of Health and Child Care said the restructuring also seek to transform the work ethic of health professionals, which will be aligned to the oath of their profession.

The restructuring stages are as follows:

• to adds a new top layer to the national health delivery system.

• to develops an organized strategic department.

• to develops and adopts a sustainable funding model for the national healthcare system and develop conditions of services for the health staff to drive the new Ministry of Health and Child Care structure.

This is a departure from the traditional national health care system which had four levels: primary health centres, district and mission hospitals, provincial hospitals; and central or teaching hospitals. VP Chiwenga said:

“We have now added the fifth level or the quaternary hospital which is a high-level research and development hospital which will offer speciality, such as advanced trauma care and organ transplantation.

“The five levels are designed to result in an efficient and effective national healthcare system that produces and depends on high-level science in executing the health services.

The newly structured Ministry of Health will now be composed of nine divisions that are headed by chief directors including the eight specialized departments.

However, it must be noted that the total establishment of the Ministry of Health and Child Care has not been changed.

The nine divisions will cover:

.research biomedical engineering

.biomedical science

.biopharmaceutical engineering and production, general health services inspectorate

.logistics and assets management

.personnel and external relations

.human resource management

.health professional council and regulations

.finance and corporate services

.public health policies corporate and strategy

.curative services.

“The main objective of the restructuring was to achieve efficiency, effectiveness, integrity, as well as integration of the Ministry of Health and Child Care with national institutions by removing insulating tendencies, limited or no coordination with national institutions. The specific objectives were to develop a new structure of the Ministry of Health and Child Care meant to achieve the above and to develop a funding model for the new structure as well as address conditions of service of health professionals,” said VP Chiwenga.

.VP Chiwenga said he was given a clear brief when he assumed the health portfolio.

“Zimbabwe’s vision is to have a national healthcare system that reflects international best practices by 2030. The desire is to have a national health system that ensures that all members of the corporation have equitable access to healthcare services of sufficient quality, thereby leaving no one behind,” he said.

“His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe Dr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, ordered the restructuring of the Ministry of Health and Child Care, for it to reflect international best practices. Today it is with great pleasure that I announce that the first phase of the restructuring that I was tasked to undertake by the President is now complete