Africa: Remembering the Zimbabwean Health Care System's Heyday

Wards bustling with highly motivated health care workers, readily available medication, decent salaries, a thriving teaching hospital network -- this defined Zimbabwe's health care system in the 1980s. Back then, it was considered a model of efficiency and effectiveness in Africa.

Soon after graduating, Stella moved to Zambia where she worked for two decades as a nurse at a copper mine hospital. Once Zimbabwe gained independence in 1980, she returned home and secured a job as a nurse in the capital of Harare. In fact, members of the Central African Federation, an economic and political alliance between Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland considered Zimbabwe their health hub, Parirenyatwa says.

In 1975, Mugabe led a civil war against the white minority regime and in 1980, the country gained independence. Mugabe soon invested in health care, especially in rural areas, to address disparities. He allocated more resources to health care, built more facilities and increased immunization programs, to mention a few efforts.

Sanctions followed. Funding to health care was reduced. Parirenyatwa's voice drops to a murmur as he recalls that time."In 2000s, people started taking their land back. 2002 sanctions were put in place. Things started going haywire." Things got even worse. Damaged beds remained unrepaired. A ward that previously accommodated 10 beds could only accommodate six, leading to premature discharge of new mothers to accommodate incoming patients.Some of her colleagues migrated to the United Kingdom and Ireland. However, some returned after an inclusive government between Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF party and the opposition in 2009 adopted a multi-currency system as a measure to restore economic stability and curb hyperinflation.

"Due to attrition, the number of public sector health workers has been reduced by at least 4,600 since 2019, despite increased recruitment," says Tryfine Rachel Dzvukutu, the deputy general manager of public relations for the commission.

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