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Vice President and Minister of Health and Child Care Retired General Dr Constantino Ghuveya Dominic Nyikadzino Chiwenga has said Zimbabwe’s ability to embrace and exploit innovation, science and technology is crtitical for the country’s economic prospects.
The Vice president said that it is the only way Zimbabwe will have a telling effect on industrialisation and development towards an upper middle income economy, in his virtual address to the Zhongguancun (ZGC) – a high-level international forum for enhancing global innovation in science and technology.
‘Zimbabwe is configuring its systems towards the 2030 vision mainly through the adoption of innovation science and technology development for industrialisation,” said the former Zimbabwe defence forces commander of commanders.
The ZGC facilitates global exchanges and cooperation on high-tech innovation which informs the decisions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. it is in this light, the Second Republic is on a drive to promote innovation in various sectors of the economy as well as ICT uptake.
Meanwhile the Vice president continued to hammer home his message on the same day when he attended two events one virtually and the other represented by the Health Research Forum hosted by his Director of Non-Communicable Diseases in the Ministry of Health and Child Care, Dr. Wenceslas Nyamayaro, who delivered his speech delivered on his behalf at the Medical Research Council of Zimbabwe (MRCZ) in Harare.
“There is an increasing recognition that reducing health disparities requires a complex system approach that puts communities at the heart of everything we do, including research. This can be achieved through community involvement/engagement and developing community roles in research. There is a need to develop long-term relationships with communities in order to build trust.
“Zimbabwe’s ambitious vision to become an upper-middle-income country by the year 2030 requires a strong research and development component that is guided by a well-thought research strategy. The current National Development Strategy(NDS 1: 2021-2025), the blueprint for the required transformation places research and innovation at the top of priorities,” VP Chiwenga said.
Vice President Chiwenga made his commitment to fund research from government resources unquestionable indicating him and his boss the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe Dr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa will back up every innovation and science project meant to uplift Zimbabweans.Chiwenga said health research will receive adequate attention at the presidium level.
“Guided by the Constitution and Research Act, there is a commitment to set aside at least 1% of the national budget for research. This is a good practice that is observed in many developed countries. We do not want to be behind.”
The Retired General said Innovations from research are required to produce health-related products and services that respond to pandemics. It can be malaria, HIV, Tuberculosis, mental health, or childhood illnesses, innovations from research are necessary.
“Today, we have an opportunity to discuss various issues relating to putting communities at the centre of health research. We rely on our communities to drive the research agenda and not vice versa. projects promote health and well-being across the whole of life (from maternity to end-of-life). They should be directed by communities rather than researchers, ensuring the research projects address the issues that communities consider to be the most important for improving their quality of life,” he added.
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