There are numerous problems facing public health institutions and health workers within them.
Problems within public health institutions:
1) There is an absence of medical supplies, functional equipment
and drugs that has rendered public hospitals and clinics virtually
closed resulting in preventable deaths.
2) Since hospitals and clinics are, for all intents and purposes,
currently closed, Zimbabweans that fall ill have no access to health
care given the high cost of private health care.
Problems facing health workers
1) Workers are not being paid a living wage. This now needs to be
paid in foreign currency due to the non-availability of goods and
services in local currency. Salaries paid in Zimbabwe dollars have been
rendered unworkable.
2) Workers are failing to come to work due continuously rising transport costs.
3) Bad working conditions continue to contribute to brain drain within the health sector.
The continued failure to address the above issues has resulted in lack
of services in public health institutions and health workers failing to
come to work.
We the undersigned workers from the public health system call upon the
responsible authorities to take urgent steps to remedy the situation
above in consultation with the health workers concerned.
Yours sincerely
Health Workers of Parirenyatwa and Harare Central Hospital
Cc: Ministry of Health and Child Welfare
Health Services Board
President of the Senate
Speaker of the House of Assembly
Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
Post published in: Analysis