Vice President and Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr C.G.D.N Chiwenga officiated at the closure of the Health Development Fund and successfully launched the Health Resilience Fund (HRF), the National Health Strategy (2021-2025), the Investment Case for The National Health Strategy and the Coordination Framework for the Health Sector to ensure a resilient and sustainable health system on Monday at a local hotel.
The closure of the Health Development Fund signified the birth of a renewed and strengthened cooperation under the Health Resilient Fund which is expected to contribute to the improvement of health care for vulnerable mothers, newborns, children and adolescents in Zimbabwe.
Dr Chiwenga said the Ministry of Health was committed to supporting the implementation of the Health Resilience Fund programme in the same way previous health intervention programmes were supported.
“The Ministry of Health and Child Care is committed to supporting the implementation of the Health Resilience Fund programme in the same way it has supported its predecessor programmes, that is, the Health Transition Fund, Integrated Support Programme and Health Development Fund,” said Dr Chiwenga.
The Vice President explained that the Health Resilient Fund consists of pooled funds amounting to US$90 million and will run for the next three years whose thrust is to end preventable maternal and child deaths, global health security and health system strengthening.
“The Health Resilient Fund is a health pooled fund with financial commitments of about US$ 90 million over the next three years. The HRF will be supporting interventions across three pillars which are Ending Preventable Maternal and Child Deaths, Global Health Security and Health System Strengthening. I would like to ensure that the funds you have pledged will be used efficiently and effectively as the Government remains focused on achieving the highest standard of health care and quality of life, possible for all its citizens,” said the Vice President.
Dr Chiwenga acknowledged the role played by health development partners to support Zimbabwe’s health sector, their commitment and continued support through funding arrangements such as the Health Resilience Fund, which he launched.
“The support will enable the Ministry to effectively and efficiently implement the National Health Strategy (2021-2025) which aims to improve the health and wellness of the Zimbabwean population and eventually to ensure universal access to health services as guided by the National Development Strategy 1,” said Dr Chiwenga.
The Health Development Fund was a programme that commenced as the Health Transition Fund in 2012, it was designed to support the National Health Strategy (2016-2020) focusing on addressing reproductive, maternal, newborn child, adolescent health and nutrition challenges. Of particular interest is that the Health Development Fund assisted the Ministry of Health and Child Care in reducing the high maternal and under-five mortalities. Interventions implemented addressed health systems bottlenecks such as health policy development, governance and coordination, participation and availability of critical health commodities. The HDF also demonstrated flexibility by reallocating resources to respond to public health emergencies which affected the country such as Cyclone Idai and COVID-19.
The Ministry developed the Investment Case of the National Health Strategy (2021-2023) which calls for efficiencies in the utilization of available resources during the implementation of high-impact prioritized strategic interventions. The Ministry takes note and appreciates the investment by development partners, the private sector and stakeholders in complementing Government’s efforts to implement the National Health Strategy (2021-2025) as the country progresses towards attaining Universal Health Coverage. Meanwhile, the Health Sector Coordination Framework consolidates and coordinates shared efforts by the Ministry of Health and Child Care and all key stakeholders as testified by the solid response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
