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GOVERNMENT has urged the private sector to complement its efforts to improve the health delivery services by investing in the health sector. Vice-President Dr Constantino Chiwenga said the private sector should partner Government which is working on a number of programmes meant to improve the country’s health delivery services. 

Dr Chiwenga who is also the Minister of Health and Child Care, said this last Thursday after visiting Victoria Falls Hospital where the Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe (HAZ) has adopted some wards and is also carrying out massive renovations. 

Vice-President Chiwenga was in the resort city to officially open the HAZ annual congress. He commended HAZ for the work it is doing at Victoria Falls Hospital. 

The massive renovations that the association is carrying out include upgrading of the children’s ward, tiling of floors, painting, setting up a treatment room for cancer patients and installing air conditioning equipment. The association is also buying equipment for cancer patients. 

Dr Chiwenga urged other companies and organisations to emulate HAZ which was investing a lot of resources to improve Victoria Falls Hospital to enable the institution to offer quality health services, not just to locals but even tourists visiting the resort city. 

What is encouraging is that many companies have also adopted wards at public hospitals such as Mpilo Central Hospital and United Bulawayo Hospitals in Bulawayo, Gweru Provincial Hospital in Gweru, Zvishavane District Hospital in Zvishavane and many other hospitals across the country. 

We want to urge the companies not to limit themselves to just adopting the wards but to also assist in ensuring that these public hospitals have adequate drugs and other consumables. 

It is every Zimbabwean’s right to access health services but as long as public health institutions do not have adequate drugs and other consumables, many people will be denied this right. 

Most of the people who seek services at Government hospitals are the poor who cannot afford to pay for the drugs hence the need to ensure the drugs are available all the time. 

Companies can only guarantee their workers quality health services if they invest in upgrading and equipping public hospitals as well as assist with resources to buy drugs and other consumables. 

It is a fact that many workers from different companies seek health services at public hospitals hence the need for the companies to partner Government in improving public health facilities. 

We have already stated there are many companies that have partnered Government in this regard and we urge those that are yet to do so to also come on board.