The proposed National Health Insurance Scheme could offer a lifeline to Zimbabwe’s struggling healthcare system and significantly improve service delivery, according to Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health Chairperson, Dr Josiah Makombe.
Dr Makombe made the remarks during an interview on Asakhe Online, a programme hosted by Transparency International Zimbabwe (TIZ) in collaboration with the Centre for Innovation and Technology (CITE).
TIZ is currently implementing a four-year regional initiative titled Inclusive, Service, Delivery Africa (ISDA). The programme, which spans five African countries, aims to improve access to healthcare for women, girls, and marginalised communities by addressing corruption-related barriers that undermine service delivery.
Dr Makombe acknowledged the challenges facing Zimbabwe’s public healthcare system, stressing that economic hardship has left most citizens without access to private medical insurance.
“The government is failing to provide adequate medical resources. Only ten percent of the population is covered by medical aid, while the remaining ninety per cent relies entirely on public health institutions,” he said.
He added that there is an urgent need for reform, highlighting the long-delayed National Health Scheme as a critical step forward.
“One of the key priorities for the current committee is ensuring the rollout of the National Health Scheme, which has been on the cards for years,” Dr Makombe said.
“If implemented, it will be a game changer. The idea is that funding will be pooled from multiple sources. It’s not a case of people paying directly for services instead, levies would be incorporated into everyday products, similar to how the sugar tax currently works.”
However, Dr Makombe criticised the government for failing to channel sugar tax revenues to the Ministry of Health in a timely manner.
“Last year, Parliament introduced a sugar levy to support the Ministry of Health. Unfortunately, Treasury has not been disbursing the funds as expected, making it difficult for the ministry to procure essential machinery and medicines,” he said.
“We’ve since tabled a motion to have these funds ringfenced and directly allocated to the health ministry. We’re hopeful this will be finalised in the second quarter.”
TIZ Senior Research Officer Dakarayi Matanga noted that although some initiatives are in place to benefit citizens, the public often lacks awareness of their rights and entitlements.
“There is a critical information gap. Citizens are unaware of what services they are entitled to, which prevents them from holding authorities accountable,” he said.
“For example, while there’s supposed to be free maternal healthcare, that is not the lived experience of many women on the ground.”
Matanga added that TIZ research has revealed systemic weaknesses in accountability mechanisms.
“In some health facilities, suggestion boxes exist, but they’re monitored by the very staff working there. This compromises the integrity of the feedback process and discourages meaningful reporting of corruption.”