Zimbabwe's officials insist the country's public healthcare system is doing just fine, despite citizen complaints and NGO reports detailing major challenges. A recent call to improve the country's deteriorating healthcare system on social media by Youth Minister Tinomuda Machakaire has sparked a national debate about whether or not the government is really in touch with what's happening on the ground in public healthcare facilities.

Responding to the posts, Zimbabwe's Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care, Sleiman Kwidini, told parliament that citizens are "happy" with the care they receive in public hospitals.

"People on social media always talk. We are doing wonders since 2018 to make sure citizens receive quality care," Kwidini said during a question and answer session. "Our citizens are very happy with the service that we are giving."

Youth Minister Tinomuda Machakaire feels otherwise. In posts on X and Facebook, he called for President Emmerson Mnangagwa to intervene and provide more support to the healthcare system.

"I respectfully plead with you: Please find time in your busy schedule to visit these institutions yourself. There is no substitute for seeing, listening and understanding first-hand what our citizens are going through," wrote Minister of Youth Tinomuda Machakaire on X and Facebook. 

The posts came after Machakaire visited a relative at a public healthcare facility. "I visited one of our public health institutions this morning to see a relative and left deeply concerned by the conditions I witnessed. What I saw was deeply moving—a clear indication that many of our people are facing serious challenges," said Machakaire.

He added that "the growing public outcry over our healthcare system is not an exaggeration; it reflects the difficult experiences of many citizens."

Citizens not satisfied with level of care

Citizens who frequently use public health services have long been speaking out about the poor conditions in hospitals.

Lisa Chindeya, a Harare resident who frequently visits Parirenyatwa Hospital, Zimbabwe's biggest referral facility, is not happy with the care she and her family have received. Her sister has cancer and has experienced kidney failure. As a result, she frequently visits the hospital for dialysis treatment.

"It makes me very emotional to narrate the ordeal we go through trying to get radio and chemotherapy sessions," Chindeya told DW. She adds that patients sometimes have to buy their own supplies and that the conditions inside the hospital are far from ideal.

"We have to wait for hours and sometimes days to get treatment. There is often one working radiotherapy machine that has to serve patients coming from different corners of the country," laments Chindeya.

Lack of public funding  

Zimbabwe's healthcare system has faced serious challenges due to years of neglect, brain drain as healthcare professionals move abroad and lack of adequate equipment.

Experts say the country's health sector needs more funding from thezimbabwe health government.

"The health sector allocation stands at 10.2% of the total projected public health spending in 2025, a decline from the 10.6% in 2024," Itai Rusike executive director of the Community Working Group on Health in Zimbabwe told DW.

Such inadequate public financing for public healthcare has resulted in a poorly run and underperforming health system that relies too much on outside funding from international organizations, including United Nations agencies, the European Union and others.

In 2001, African Union (AU) member states signed the Abuja Declaration, pledging to allocate at least 15% of their national budgets each year to improving their healthcare systems.

"The Abuja target of 15% allocation of national budget to health has remained an elusive target for Zimbabwe," said Rusike, adding that the target is now outdated given the population increase and growing disease outbreaks.

Renewed appeals for government intervention

Despite petitions and protests by healthcare professional in recent years, there has been little to no action on the part of the government, and citizens report being increasingly concerned about using public health facilities. 

Some citizens, like Linda Masarira, are still pushing for change. Masarira, a political activist and leader of the Labour Economists and Afrikan Democrats (LEAD) has been busy collecting signatures for a recent petition she launched to appeal to the country's president to intervene.
"More than 60% of Zimbabweans are dying prematurely due to lack of access to basic healthcare. This petition is a call to action demanding that the government of Zimbabwe make basic healthcare accessible to all," Masarira told DW.

"If we don't speak up now, we risk losing more lives to preventable causes," she added.

According to local media reports, the Zimbabwean government has stopped over 4,000 local nurses from taking jobs in foreign countries to prevent further strain on the already fragile public healthcare system.

Professional health workers have been pushed to seek better opportunities abroad due to low wages, poor working conditions and limited career growth in Zimbabwe. The country has been losing healthcare professionals to countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. 

On average, a qualified nurse in Zimbabwe earns only $255 (€226) per month after taxes. The Zimbabwe Nurses Association estimates that the minimum living wage should be $840 (€744) per month.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more 4,600 public sector health workers have left the country since 2019. The exodus has put pressure on the already understaffed healthcare system. 

"Healthcare workers are supposed to work in teams and not in isolation. At central hospitals there used to be multidisciplinary teams, registrars, a nursing team, physiotherapists, nutritionists and other roles. But currently, it may just be one doctor and few nurses," said Rusike. "The workload becomes unmanageable, and each shift is taxing. This has resulted in burnout," Rusike added.

In an attempt to stop public sector healthcare professionals from leaving, the government has reportedly resorted to withholding verification letters that thousands of nurses and doctors need to secure jobs abroad. The letters confirm health workers' qualifications and local media has reported that despite paying, they still hadn't received their documents.

Zimbabwe was placed on the World Health Organisation's (WHO) Health Workforce Support and Safeguards List which includes 55 countries that face significant health workforce challenges. As a result, some countries, like the UK, have stopped actively recruiting healthcare workers from Zimbabwe.

The article was edited by Sarah Hucal.