Mthuli moves sickly health sector

CHENGETAI ZVAUYA

Finance and Economic Development minister, Mthuli Ncube, has launched a 90-day Rapid Plan aimed at capacitating the country’s public hospitals.

Briefing journalists yesterday, Ncube said Treasury has allocated US$5m towards Harare hospital and was going to be targeting other five major hospitals countrywide under the Rapid Plan working programme.

“We want to see our doctors and nurses working in a conducive environment and we have set the target of putting funds into refurbishing our major public hospitals and we want to carry out the programme this year in 2020 covering all provinces,” Ncube said.

“We have started the programme with Harare hospital and we shall be moving to other public hospitals in other provinces including Bulawayo, Masvingo and Mutare public hospitals under that programme.”

 Ncube was speaking in Harare during the signing of the agreement of exchange of notes with Japan for the procurement of hospital equipment for Harare Children’s Hospital support amounting to US$2.75m (300 million Japanese Yen).

Toshiyuku Iwado, ambassador of Japan to Zimbabwe, signed the grant on behalf of his government.

The grant will be used to support the government in buying state of the art medical equipment comprising of bedside Intensive Care Unit monitors, an ultrasound scope, operation and examination equipment, a portable X-ray, bedside Coronary Care Unit monitors, emergency ventilators, multi-channel electrodiagraphs, an anaesthesia workstation, artificial resuscitations, Automated External Defibrillator and portable veins finders.

The grant will also be used in the hospital to assist in reducing the infant mortality rate as well as providing health care to mothers and their children.

Ncube said the intervention by Japan is in line with Zimbabwe’s national priorities as enunciated in the Transitional Stabilisation Programme, the project also assists in achieving Social Development Goal number three which focus on good health care. He said the government was committed to full re-engagement with the assistance of Japan and all development partners in order to unlock new financial assistance.

Medical doctors in the public hospitals resumed work last week after nearly four months of industrial action.

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