Zimbabwe’s health facilities have been deteriorating for more than a decade following the downward spiral of the economy.
Vice President Constantino Chiwenga was appointed Health minister in 2020 to stop the bleed of the health system following scandals of corruption involving sacked minister Obadiah Moyo.
Chiwenga has found the going tough and always resort to military approach of silencing health practitioners instead of solving their issues.
“The main determining factor is low wages,” says Simbarashe Tafirenyika, president of the Zimbabwe Urban and Rural Council Nurses Workers Union, explaining the exodus of nurses.
“They have to pay school fees, put food on the table.”
It is so desperate that many highly qualified nurses choose menial jobs abroad because they are better paid.
The Health Service Board, which ranks and appoints state health workers, admits the mass exodus of nurses has had an impact.
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