The Bulawayo City Council (BCC) says it is adopting a proactive approach to disease prevention by prioritising investments in water, sanitation, and hygiene, a move aimed at easing pressure on the city’s underfunded health department.
Speaking during a press conference following the presentation of the 2025 budget on Tuesday, Mayor Cllr David Coltart said the city had allocated more resources towards clean water supply and sewer infrastructure to prevent outbreaks before they occur, thereby reducing the strain on limited health funds.
“You will see from our list of priorities that sewerage is number two and health is number three, while water is number one. All these are ultimately directed towards health,” said Cllr Coltart.
“We have a reactive budget mostly for our health sector, under which we assist people who are sick and come to our clinics for help. But there is also a proactive budget, in addition to that, and that is where we have to look at water and sewage.
“If we can create a healthy environment by ensuring that people have access to clean water and that there are no sewer bursts, then they are less likely to fall ill and need to go to the clinic. We thus hope to reduce disease outbreaks in the city.”
Finance Committee Chairperson, Cllr Dumisani Nkomo, explained that the council had to subsidise the city’s healthcare department with at least US$1.5 million.
“On health, you will see that we have a budget of US$4.5 million, but our income from health is US$3 million, which means that we are heavily subsidising the sector,” he said.
“We believe that it is very important, so we are subsidising it with at least US$1.5 million. It shows how much we prioritise this department. We considered factors such as gender, access to primary healthcare, and health facilities, especially for women and children, with a strong focus on maternal healthcare services. That is why we agreed to subsidise it.”
According to the latest council minutes, the city has been making progress in disease control, prevention, and reduction.
Health statistics from August show mixed trends across diseases. Malaria cases dropped to zero, compared with two recorded in July, while diarrhoea cases fell from 307 to 190 over the same period. One dysentery case and two cases of acute flaccid paralysis were also reported. Dog bites declined from 71 in July to 62 in August.
However, the council noted six maternal deaths during the month.
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