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Leonard Ncube, Online Reporter

THE Government of Japan has pledged more than US$600 000 for strengthening of access to safe, timely, and affordable Surgical, Obstetric, and Anaesthesia (SOA) healthcare services in Matabeleland North and Manicaland provinces in Zimbabwe.

The funding targets all citizens in need of care at all levels and will be implemented by the Ministry of Health and Child Care in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO).

This is a boost, especially to Matabeleland North where people have challenges accessing healthcare services because of the shortage of specialist services and distance to the nearby facility.

The Ambassador of Japan to Zimbabwe Mr. Satoshi Tanaka said the total amount of US$633 975 will be used to build the capacity of critical specialist health workers providing SOA services in Zimbabwe, as well as provide basic and critical SOA equipment and consumables at selected high-burden secondary-level health facilities and strengthen the national Health Management Information Systems (HMIS) to allow effective decision-making.

It is expected that by the end of 2023, an estimated 845-631 people are expected to access emergency high-quality surgical services through the proposed interventions in this project.

“Zimbabwe’s sustainable development and the attainment of its vision of a middle-income country by 2030 can only be assured if its citizens are healthy and have access to quality health care services.

Japan will support Zimbabwe’s efforts to attain Universal Health Coverage by strengthening access to safe, timely and affordable SOA care, for which there is a dire need,” said Mr Tanaka in Harare.

Zimbabwe faces a critical shortage of surgical equipment, medicines, consumables and sundries essential for SOA care services.

This has resulted in reduced essential surgical procedures being done in hospitals across the country.

Many people remain on the waiting list for surgical operations for a long time.

Accepting the donation, Health and Child Care Permanent Secretary Dr Jasper Chimedza said the supplementary budget funding from Japan will make a significant contribution in the delivery of quality surgical care services in Zimbabwe.

He said Government is committed to ensuring that every person in need of SOA services receives quality and timely care at all levels of the healthcare system.

This comes as Government is pursuing a universal health coverage system where all citizens should be able to access primary health care near them.

Essential surgical and anesthetic care is an indispensable component of UHC.

The SOA care system is also currently being strengthened, as articulated in the first-ever National Surgical, Obstetric and Anesthesia Strategy (NSOAS: 2022 – 2025) which was launched in September 2022.

“The Ministry will maintain its stewardship in making progress towards achieving the highest possible level of health and quality of life for every person in Zimbabwe.

“The funding will also contribute to the ongoing efforts to address some of the emerging challenges of Non-Communicable Diseases which include conditions amenable to surgical care,” said Dr Chimedza.

WHO Country Representative Professor Jean-Marie Dangou said the global health body will continue to support Government in strengthening the health system and implementation of the National Health Strategy (NHS2022 – 2025) for which delivery of safe and quality SOA care are amongst its priorities.

He appreciated the support of development partners for the implementation of Zimbabwe’s SOA Strategy to accelerate Zimbabwe’s progress toward the attainment of universal health.

WHO leads global efforts to expand universal health coverage as it directs and coordinates the world’s response to health emergencies to promote healthier lives through its Triple Billion targets which point to an ambitious plan for the world to achieve good health for all using science-based policies and programmes.

-@ncubeleon