We had already planned to take over – says govt on health sector following Trump’s ‘unexpected’ orders

STRUGGLING to provide basics at public hospitals, government has sensationally claimed it had already decided to ‘takeover’ the health sector before American President Donald Trump’s unexpected executive order.

Trump, on January 20, ordered a 90-day freeze on all funding and a programme-by-programme review of all activities financed through USAID, America’s largest humanitarian organisation.

With it playing a central role in public health services provision in Zimbabwe and the rest of Africa, fears abound that gains realised in the fight against HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria would be reversed.

“We had already planned to take over all health workers to be employed by the ministry because we were facing challenges of accountability, we did not even know the reporting structure of those employed by NGOs,” said health minister Douglas Mombeshora.

Although the suspension on funding health-related programmes was later reversed, medicines are yet to be delivered with current stocks lasting up to June, three months from now.

Speaking to journalists in Harare on Monday, Mombeshora said government had already planned for this and procured medicines that would cover the period after June to September.

In a heavily contradictory statement, Mombeshora said the challenge government was facing was that its procurement had been stopped before saying that it will be coming in phases and later, that they had called for tenders to also procure the same medicines as government waits for Trump’s review of USAID.

Added Mombeshora: “The challenges that I can say still remain, relate to procurement, we had medicines for HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria which we had procured by they will be coming in phases.

“We have enough stocks up to the end of June, but the stocks that were coming to cover the period after June have been stopped, and we cannot wait to see what happens after the 90 days which they said they were using to review.

“We have actually floated a tender to do procurement of medicines that will cover from June to the end of September while we see how other resources can be covered.”

USAID not only financed the procurement of medicines meant for treatment of HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria, it also ensured the provision of condoms and payment of nurses and doctors manning opportunistic clinics across the country.

“Those who are on HIV treatment will not have any disruption, no one should be scared, no one should be seen hoarding,” he added.

Over 19,000 village health workers, more than a thousand nurses and doctors were on USAID’s payroll according to Mombeshora.

The Zimbabwean and African health services situation, battered by little to no investment since the attainment of independence, has been worsened by a further flight of other humanitarian organisations in the wake of Trump’s decision.-newz