Mashudu Netsianda in Victoria Falls
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa has called upon countries within the South-South and Triangular Cooperation framework to consolidate their engagement and partnerships to help unlock more resources for respective national development plans towards a prosperous and healthy life for all.
He said Zimbabwe remains committed to universal health coverage, and the country has already made remarkable progress towards improving the availability and accessibility of reproductive, maternal, newborn child, and adolescent health services, at all levels of society.
President Mnangagwa made the remarks while officially opening the 20th International Inter-Ministerial Conference on South-South and Triangular Cooperation in Population and Development in Victoria Falls yesterday.
“I am pleased to highlight that through such partnerships, Zimbabwe has managed to fill gaps in health service provision. This has seen medical and other health specialists coming to our country to assist us in the health service delivery sector, from as far afield as the People’s Republic of China and Cuba,” he said.
President Mnangagwa
“May I reiterate the need to scale up the provision of maternal health and reduction of child mortality as a vital aspect of the attainment of sustainable development.”
In a bid to track commitments to the International Conference on Population and Development, President Mnangagwa said the Government established a multi-sectoral National Taskforce, which periodically meets to coordinate, monitor and evaluate the implementation of the Programme of Action.
“The National Taskforce employs a Whole-of-Government and Whole-of-Society Approach. Similarly, we call for seamless coordination to scale up South-South and Triangular Cooperation,” he said.
President Mnangagwa said the Government has also increased the number of fully-fledged medical schools for the training of doctors and specialised health personnel towards increased patient-doctor ratio, as well as availing specialised health care to grassroots communities.
He noted that periodic fellowships and capacity-building programmes offered by Partners in Population and Development (PPD) have resulted in the country’s health workforce attaining specialised post-graduate qualifications.
“In this regard, we remain grateful to partner countries such as the Republics of Egypt, India and South Africa, for providing these scholarships. Exchange programmes with other member countries of the Partners in Population and Development, are equally appreciated,” he said.
Following the outbreak of Covid-19, President Mnangagwa said the Government successfully mobilised the procurement of vaccines and rolled out a robust national vaccination programme.
“We continue adhering to the family planning 2030 commitments and the compact of commitment with regards to the provision of technical and financial resources for the family planning programmes,” he said.
“This has resulted in the domestic funding for family planning, rising within the national health budget, from 1,7 percent in 2013 to 2,4 percent in 2022.”
Zimbabwe’s national health budget allocation was at 14,9 percent in 2022 in line with the 15 percent aspiration outlined in the Abuja Declaration.
“The overall effectiveness of the Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council has had overall positive ripple effects on our family planning and reproductive health services.
“In spite of these success milestones, Zimbabwe faces challenges in the health sector that we believe can be tackled through South-South and Triangular Cooperation,” said President Mnangagwa.
“In Zimbabwe, innovation hubs and industrial parks within our universities have developed viable start-ups such as those in the production of medical oxygen, ultrasound gel, and other medical devices, gadgets, and consumables.”
The establishment of innovation hubs and industrial parks at the country’s State universities in pursuit of the heritage-based Education 5.0 model has started bearing fruits, with the country saving US$12 million in imports.
“These have helped propel Zimbabwe’s modernisation and industrialisation through the local production of goods and services.
President Mnangagwa also reiterated the need to scale up the provision of maternal health and reduction of child mortality as a vital aspect of the attainment of sustainable development.
“The mantra ‘No woman should die while giving birth’ remains our guiding motto. Further, let us consolidate our engagement and partnerships within the South-South and Triangular Cooperation framework to unlock more resources for our respective national development plans towards a prosperous and healthy life for all,” he said.
Further, domestic financing and innovative interventions that promote gender equality and the empowerment of girls and women, remain critical.
“Ultimately, the burden and responsibility to realise development that leaves no one and no place behind, within our respective countries is on us. Collectively, we must deliver,” said the President.
The 20th International Inter-Ministerial Conference on South-South and Triangular Cooperation on Population and Development ends today. The high-level international consultative conference set the tone on the world’s preparedness to respond to issues around sexual reproductive health and rights and population development ahead of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD30) to be held next year.
The programme is being organised by Partners in Population and Development (PPD), a ministerial level inter-governmental body composed of 27 member countries that represent more than 60 percent of the world’s population and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
The conference has helped to depolarise the ICPD agenda on some key issues and aims to bring everyone together to reinvigorate the common drive for the goals while also shaping the future agenda for ICPD and strengthening South-South and Triangular Cooperation as an accelerator in the achievement of ICPD goals.
The ICPD Programme of Action was adopted by representatives of 179 governments in Cairo in 1994 and recognised reproductive health and the empowerment of women and gender equality as pillars of sustainable development.
Zimbabwe, along with the rest of the governments made national commitments in five areas namely: universal access to sexual and reproductive health, financial resources to finish the ICPD Programme of Action, demographic diversity to drive economic growth and achieve sustainable development and gender equality.
