Midlands Correspondent
The Health Service Commission (HSC) says it is targeting a doubling of Zimbabwe’s healthcare workforce by 2030 as part of efforts to improve health service delivery and achieve universal health coverage.
This was revealed by HSC Chairperson Dr Vincent Hungwe, who was represented by the Commission’s Deputy Chairperson, Dr Rugare Abigail Kangwende, during a graduation ceremony for health professionals at Gweru Provincial Hospital.
Dr Hungwe said a study conducted in 2022 showed that Zimbabwe did not have enough health professionals to meet the needs of the population and achieve universal health coverage.
“A study conducted about four years ago showed that Zimbabwe does not have enough health professionals to meet the needs of the population and to get us to what we call universal health coverage. Universal health coverage is where we want to take the nation to by 2030, and that means every citizen in Zimbabwe has access to health services where they need them, when they need them, and at a cost that does not leave them poor,” he explained.
He said the Commission’s plan was to double the health workforce by 2030, with at least 32 000 posts expected to be created and funded.
“Our plan, therefore, is to double the health workforce by 2030 because the number that we had when the study was done in 2022 is not enough. So this we will do by creating and funding at least 32 000 posts for health workers by 2030, and not only create these posts but retain the health workers. There is no point in employing them and they leave very quickly,” he said.
Dr Hungwe said the country also needed to address the uneven distribution of healthcare workers, particularly in rural and hard-to-reach areas.
“Only one-third of healthcare professionals are working in rural or hard-to-reach areas, yet two-thirds of Zimbabwe’s population live in rural areas. We therefore have a skewed situation where one-third of health workers are serving two-thirds of the population living in rural areas. That needs to be corrected, and we are doing a lot to address the situation.”
He said the Government had already increased the number of posts available for health workers, with Treasury approving 14 000 posts between 2025 and 2026.
“I am delighted to share that the Government of Zimbabwe has been very faithful and forthcoming in supporting this aspiration. So far, in 2025 and 2026, Treasury has granted the Ministry of Health and Child Care a total of 14 000 posts for health workers. The Health Service Commission, which is mandated to ensure that these posts are filled, is frantically engaged in filling them.”
The HSC chairperson said posts requiring skills that were readily available had already been filled, while efforts were also underway to increase the number of health workers graduating from training institutions.
“Posts where the skills are readily available have already been filled among the 14 000. We are collaborating with the relevant ministries, including the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, and other agencies. We are working hard to increase the number of health workers graduating from our training institutions. So now you can understand why we are excited to be here,” he said.
Meanwhile, a total of 336 nurses and 56 environmental health technicians graduated at the ceremony.
Ten of the graduates were Gweru Provincial Hospital’s first nurse anaesthetists, making it the country’s second-largest training centre for the specialised programme after Parirenyatwa Hospital.
The hospital began training nurse anaesthetists in 2024, with the first group completing their training this year.
