Story by Abigirl Tembo, Health Editor
Zimbabwe’s healthcare sector is poised for digital revolution, as government and key stakeholders converged for a Digital Health Indaba, reaffirming commitment to harnessing technology to transform the country’s healthcare landscape.
At the heart of the discussions was the need to embrace digital health to ensure every Zimbabwean has access to quality, efficient, and equitable healthcare, with government highlighting the importance of harnessing innovation and technology to transform public health and improve the quality of life for the citizenry.
The Minister of Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services, Hon Tatenda Mavetera said, “The government is supposed to provide for services which are efficient and also effective to the people of Zimbabwe. And I am happy that as a country, we are still pushing towards digital health. And where we can, it is important for us to be able to make sure we provide for efficient digital health. His Excellency, our President Dr. ED Mnangagwa has said as a country that we need to digitalize towards 2030 and for us we are also committed to achieve efficient and effective digital health. It is incumbent upon us to also make sure that we have real connectivity.”
“We are also happy to say as a government we are able to provide for good data security measures which will see our data centres information being protected. Two or three weeks ago, we published SI-155, which concentrates on issues to do with us protecting our data. Let me also applaud all tech players who have also come here to say here is the opportunity for us, let’s take it upon ourselves, let’s provide for connectivity, which is also fast and also affordable. This is where the world is going to, and we are saying that Zimbabwe is not supposed to be left behind.”
Higher and Tertiary Education minister, Ambassador Frederick Shava noted the importance of integrating digital technologies.
“It is a great pleasure and honor that I stand here before you today to participate in this very important dialogue on the law of information innovation in advancing Zimbabwe’s health care system in alignment with the World Health Organization which recommends the integration of digital technologies for improving health services and the Zimbabwe Science Technology Innovation Policy of 2014 by the Ministry of Health. The Ministry is dedicated to fostering integration of digital technology across the faculties in the health services. Ladies and gentlemen, I strongly believe that harnessing innovation and technology transforms public health and improves the quality of life for all citizens.”
He added, “The Ministry of education, I must say, is my new ministry. Our mission is to develop a skilled and knowledgeable workforce through higher education, science and technology development, generally mandated by the education 5.0 model. It is therefore our sovereign responsibility to train competent medical health personnel with soft skills in digital technology utilization for an improved healthcare service system and self-delivery in Zimbabwe. In fulfillment of that mandate, my ministry established or continuously established medical schools and innovation hubs in most of our state universities to complement the training of specialist medical personnel for the nation and the global village. At the Midlands State University, we have established a national pathology research and diagnostic centre, which will help a lot of hospitals and institutions that require that kind of expertise. At Great Zimbabwe University, we also established a medical school there, the Simon Mazorodze Medical School, and we hope that it will be targeting certain specialties in our system. And similarly, at last, in Bulawayo, we have the National University of Science and Technology.”
Health and Child Care Minister, Dr Douglas Mombeshora emphasised the importance of digital technology in achieving universal health coverage.
He said, “Digital health is a necessity in ensuring that every Zimbabwean has access to quality, efficient, and equitable health care. It is not simply about integrating technology into our health systems, but about using these tools to build a healthier, stronger Zimbabwe. Our digital health initiatives align seamlessly with the National Development Strategy 1, the National Health Strategy, and our commitment to universal health coverage. These efforts are also a step towards achieving sustainable development goals, particularly SDG 3, which focuses on ensuring good health and well-being for all, SDG 9, on fostering innovation and infrastructure, and SDG 10, which seeks to reduce inequalities. Through these guiding frameworks, we are building Zimbabwe’s digital superhighway to health, a health system that anticipates and addresses challenges efficiently, the health system ensuring no one is left behind.”
Some of the key initiatives outlined during the Indaba include expanding digital health systems to all regions, introducing individual health IDs and health cards with biometric identification, and ensuring every health facility is digitally equipped by 2025.
