The Ministry of Health and Child Care is calling for increased domestic funding and better use of available resources as it prepares its 2027 programmes.
The ministry is reviewing its 2026 performance and using the findings to inform its plans and budget priorities for next year.
Speaking at a strategic review and planning meeting in Bulawayo on Thursday, Permanent Secretary for Health and Child Care Dr Aspect Maunganidze said the exercise was critical in preparing for the 2027 budget.
“This is a very important part of government functions where we have to review the whole year and be informed to make strategic plans for our next year,” Maunganidze said.
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He said the global health financing landscape had changed, with governments increasingly having to rely on domestic resources as donor funding declined.
“There has been a shift in the financing landscape all over the world. There is very little that is coming from donors and partners, so each government, and in particular Zimbabwe, has taken it on board to have more local resource mobilisation, looking at more health for the money that is available and probably more money for health,” he said.
Maunganidze said the ministry would work with the Finance Ministry to increase funding for health while ensuring existing resources were targeted at priority programmes.
“The first thing we need to do is to mobilise with the Ministry of Finance to make sure at least we meet the 15% Abuja Declaration, but beyond that our ministry has to be innovative,” he said.
“We have to make sure that all the little funds that are there, whether from the Health Service Fund, are targeted to specific programmes.”
The Abuja Declaration calls on African governments to allocate at least 15% of their annual budgets to health.
Maunganidze said the ministry was also focusing on strengthening the key building blocks of the health system, including infrastructure, human resources, equipment, medicines and other medical supplies.
“We know that the building blocks for health need a good infrastructure base, human resources, proper tools of the trade which include equipment and medical products, medicines and commodities,” he said.
The ministry was also exploring local manufacturing and food procurement to ensure greater value from available funds.
“We are strategising local manufacturing, food procurement so that we get more value from the money that we have,” Maunganidze said.
On human resources, he said the ministry was looking at expanding its establishment while ensuring that existing workers had the necessary skills and competencies.
“Concurrences are now available for expanded establishment, so we are looking at making sure that those who are available to work have the appropriate skills and competences,” he said.
Maunganidze also highlighted digital health systems as a key part of efforts to improve service delivery and reduce leakages in procurement and supply chains.
“Digital health is inevitable. We need to use digital provisions to make sure that we deliver health better, so we need to have systems that make sure that there are no leakages,” he said.
Health Minister Dr Douglas Mombeshora said stronger coordination and accountability were needed across the health system to improve service delivery.
“We therefore need stronger coordination, common standards, effective referral systems, shared priorities and accountability across the entire health system,” Mombeshora said.
He also called for greater professionalism and accountability among health workers and managers.
“We need a culture of professionalism, discipline, punctuality, ownership and delivery. Managers must manage, officers must take responsibility and commitments made in this meeting must translate into action when we return to our offices,” he said.
Mombeshora said the ministry had to ensure resources were used efficiently, particularly amid funding constraints.
“We must make better use of the resources entrusted to us. At a time where resources are limited, there’s no room for avoidable delays, waste or poor utilisation,” he said.
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