By Staff Reporter
MASVINGO – The Community Working Group on Health (CWGH) has warned that the
continued rise in fuel prices is placing immense strain on an already struggling public health
sector, with hospitals and clinics facing increased operational costs, disrupted supply chains, and
reduced access to essential services.
CWGH executive director, in a statement released on March 20, 2026, said Zimbabwe imported
nearly all its fuel from distant countries, and the cascading costs are being felt across the health
system.
“The Public Health Sector is already struggling with a plethora of issues, and not least among
those is inadequate funding, challenges in accessing budgeted funds, and the general high cost of
care. Increased fuel costs will obviously exacerbate these challenges,” said Rusike.
The CWGH highlighted that hospitals and clinics rely heavily on fuel to run generators during
power outages, to operate ambulances, and to transport medicines and medical supplies. With
fuel prices rising, budgets that were already stretched must now be reallocated to cover transport
and energy costs.
“The impact on hospital and clinic budgets is almost immediate. They have to re-jig their
budgets and allocate more towards transport costs and other operational activities that require
fuel such as referrals, running generators, logistics, and outreaches. This means reduced activities
or other areas have to be sacrificed,” said Rusike.
The organization further warned that supply chains would be disrupted, leading to shortages of
essential commodities and further cost escalations.
For health workers, rising transport costs eat into their incomes and deepen demoralization. For
patients, the burden is even heavier and some will be forced to default.
“Patients face increased transport costs, food costs, and cost of care. Out-of-pocket expenditure
on health is already high by World Health Organization standards. This will affect their health-
seeking behavior, leading to defaulting on treatment and possibly resulting in adverse health
outcomes,” he said.
He said even if fuel prices stabilize in the future, the damage may already be done.
“Prices are generally sticky downwards. Even in the event that the oil market stabilizes, the
disruption is causing uncertainty in the market and critical infrastructure is being affected.
Contracts may have to be renegotiated, so people are not likely to see any benefits in the short
term,” he said.
The CWGH also pointed to broader negative effects, including increased inflation and pressure
on health budgets, which would require government to allocate more funds to cover operational
costs.
“Service accessibility will be affected, and the delivery of essential health services is also
affected. Those in low-income population categories are the worst affected,”said Rusike.
The Community Working Group on Health is a national network of civil society and community-
based organizations that work to enhance community participation in health in Zimbabwe.
