Zimbabwe’s health sector leadership has renewed its commitment to strengthening the health workforce, improving governance systems, and enhancing financial accountability as part of broader efforts to improve public health service delivery in line with National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2) and Vision 2030.
Speaking at the Health Sector Leadership Engagement Meeting in Kadoma, Deputy Chairperson of the Health Service Commission (HSC), Dr Rugare Abigail Kangwende, commended health leaders for their professionalism, openness, and commitment to reforming the health sector.
“The active engagement, professionalism, and candid contributions over the past two days reflect a shared commitment to strengthening the health system in our beautiful country, Zimbabwe,” said Dr Kangwende.
She emphasized that the health workforce remains the backbone of the national health delivery system and is central to achieving national development priorities.
“Infrastructure, medicines and technologies are critical, but it is the health worker who ultimately translates these resources into essential services that save lives and improve the wellbeing of our population.”
Dr Kangwende noted that strengthening workforce management, leadership development, and performance systems is essential for achieving Universal Health Coverage, the health targets under National Development Strategy 2 (2026–2030), and Zimbabwe’s broader Vision 2030 agenda.
While applauding the quality of dialogue during the engagement, she urged participants to focus on implementation.
“Dialogue alone is not enough. The true measure of this engagement will be seen in implementation. We must now transition from recommendations to action.”
She reminded participants that health sector reforms must remain citizen-centred.
“Behind every policy discussion is a Zimbabwean citizen who depends on our health system — a mother seeking safe delivery, a child requiring immunisation, or a family relying on emergency care.”
Following her remarks, Secretary to the Health Service Commission, Dr Christopher Pasi, underscored that the engagement was anchored in the Commission’s constitutional responsibility to ensure the efficient functioning of the public health workforce.
“This engagement is firmly anchored in the constitutional and statutory mandate of the Health Service Commission to ensure the efficient and effective functioning of the public health workforce for effective service delivery in Zimbabwe,” said Dr Pasi.
He reiterated the Commission’s commitment to building a competent, motivated, and accountable workforce capable of supporting national development goals.
“The Commission remains committed to building a capable, motivated, and accountable workforce that can deliver quality health services to all citizens.”
Dr Pasi explained that the engagement was deliberately designed to produce practical, implementable solutions to workforce management challenges.
“This engagement has been deliberately designed to move beyond dialogue to practical action, where participants examine leadership and governance gaps, financial management challenges, and the limitations of existing performance management approaches.”
He highlighted the importance of developing a clinically relevant, IT-supported performance management framework aligned with modern health service delivery systems and national transformation priorities under NDS2.
“Sustainable reform can only be achieved when those responsible for implementation actively shape the solutions,” he said.
Also addressing the gathering, Acting Secretary for the Ministry of Health and Child Care, Dr Banda, welcomed the initiative and described the health workforce as a central pillar in achieving improved health outcomes.
“Health workforce is one of the key strategic pillars in the health delivery system, and we welcome the Health Service Commission, our employer, for bringing us together to engage on matters that are critical.”
Dr Banda acknowledged that service delivery challenges remain, particularly in workforce management, leadership, and resource utilization.
“Government continues to raise service delivery challenges, some of which hinge on the availability, quality management, leadership, and governance of the health workforce.”
He said the engagement provided an opportunity for health leaders to reflect on leadership practices, resource utilization, and performance management systems across institutions.
Dr Banda also emphasized the importance of improving workforce engagement amid morale challenges within the sector.
“We are particularly glad that we are seeking to improve the way we engage the workforce, noting the level of demoralization and disengagement.”
On financial sustainability, he highlighted the importance of strengthening financial management systems in response to changing financing realities.
“The financing landscape has changed significantly, making improved financial management, resource mobilization, and effective cost-recovery mechanisms essential.”
He also noted progress in strengthening leadership structures through recent appointments, while stressing the need for leadership development and institutional support.
“What remains critical now is to invest in these leaders so that each one of them is well equipped to deliver on their respective mandates.”
The engagement brought together senior health leaders from across Zimbabwe to reflect on leadership capacity, governance systems, workforce motivation, financial sustainability, and performance management reforms. Participants are expected to produce clear action plans, strengthened financial management approaches, identified leadership capacity gaps, and a draft clinical performance management framework to guide implementation.
Health sector leaders expressed optimism that the outcomes of the engagement will contribute to measurable improvements in service delivery and workforce performance across public health institutions, supporting the health sector’s contribution to National Development Strategy 2 and Vision 2030.