Story by Abigirl Tembo, Health Editor
ZIMBABWE is advancing efforts to strengthen its health workforce with the reopening of Maphisa District School of Nursing in Matabeleland South, following extensive renovations. The initiative forms part of a broader government plan to double the number of health professionals by 2030, create 32,000 new public sector jobs, and address chronic shortages, particularly in rural districts.
At Maphisa, renovation works are progressing on the roof, floors, ceilings, plumbing, and electrical systems, addressing deterioration caused by years of disuse and termite damage. Acting District Medical Officer, Dr Nkosikhona Moyo, said the facility is expected to reopen with its next student intake, focusing on training registered general nurses rather than primary care nurses (PCN).
“Government is revitalising the school to ensure it can begin training nurses capable of serving Matobo District and beyond,” Dr Moyo said.
“We anticipate the next intake will be ready once renovations are complete, possibly by next year.”
Similar refurbishment efforts are underway at Plumtree District Hospital, while a new nursing institute is planned for Beitbridge District. Communities in Matabeleland South have welcomed the initiative, citing improved access to training and healthcare services.
“For years our children struggled to access training, but now that districts will recruit their own students, we are hopeful they will qualify, train and return to serve you,” a community member, Mr Zethi Ncube noted.
“We hope those who qualify will now enter nurse training and serve their communities instead of leaving,” another community member, Mrs Beauty Moyo stated.
“If our young people are trained and employed here, they will better understand our challenges and are more likely to stay longer. That will strengthen services in this border community,” another community member, Mr Fundulwazi Ndlovu added.
Speaking after touring health facilities in Matabeleland South Province, Health and Child Care Minister Dr Douglas Mombeshora said the country is on a drive to increase the number of nurses and frontline professionals trained annually to meet national health delivery targets.
“In the long term, we want to increase training to make sure that we train local people. The system that has been there was a bit unfair because it was using a system that was biased towards people in urban areas, where there is connectivity, but now we have said we want the district that has a training school to recruit at least 50 percent from that district, and we are going to execute that here. We have also seen that they did not have enough training schools.
“We are going to open one next training school in Maphisa. That one is going to be opened around, we should be ready before independence, and we should see by May having their first intake. We went to Plumtree. We also saw that there is a next training school that was now being used for other things, accommodating certain workers there,” Dr Douglas Mombeshora said.
“We want that to be refurbished. Not much work is needed, and I set a target to say by September, it must also be open. It is in Mangwe, but you know, it used to be Bulilima-Mangwe as one district. Now there is Mangwe district, and then there is Bulilima, and then Plumtee is at the border with Mangwe-Bulilima. At our meeting yesterday, we resolved that. Their first intake in September, they should take half of that, that is, they will be taking 20 students, 20 will be taken from Mangwe, and 10 will be taken from Bulilima. Also, when we went to Lake Stanley Hospital, the challenges were the same. Very few local people are taking up posts there.”
“So we want local people to increase so that they can be retained in their own home areas. At this place in BeitBridge, at home. There is no nurse training school, but it is a place which is also very far away from the other training schools. So we want to plan and construct a new training school here so that we cover all that. As you know, our target is to say we want to double our health workforce by 2030.”
World Health Organisation Country Representative to Zimbabwe, Dr Desta Tiruneh, described the initiative as a positive step towards reinforcing primary healthcare services.
“What I observed during the visit is that the Ministry is making a deliberate effort to expand training facilities and increase the production of local health workers. If these institutions are upgraded and supported, they will significantly increase the number of nurses being produced locally, which is critical for improving service coverage.”
As Government accelerates the expanded nurse training programme, the initiative is expected to boost the health workforce and promote more equitable distribution of skilled personnel, a critical step towards ensuring that all Zimbabweans have access to quality healthcare. By training nurses locally for local deployment, the government is laying the foundation for a stronger, self-reliant health system, one intake at a time.
