Beatific Gumbwanda
CHIREDZI – The Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr David Parirenyatwa has blamed the calamitous state of the country’s public health system on meagre budgetary allocations from the national treasury.
Speaking in an interview with TellZim News in Chiredzi, Dr Parirenyatwa defended his ministry’s management of the country’s health delivery system, saying lack of resources was to blame for the awful situation in most public health institutions.
His comments come in the wake of the suspension of the BCG vaccination programme at Chiredzi General Hospital due to the shortage of syringes.
“The health system needs more money than the US$500 million that the budget proposed. We need approximately US$1.3 billion in order for us to deliver good services. The situation is bad because we have few resources including inadequate drugs, syringes and drips,” Dr Parirenyatwa said.
He also said Chiredzi General Hospital needs a new maternity ward to cater for the rapid population growth in the district and urged the council-run poly clinic to do more on antenatal and maternity care so as to relieve pressure at the hospital.
“We toured Chiredzi General Hospital some time ago and discovered that it has a very small maternity wing. There is an urgent need to build a new maternity wing to cater for the increased demand for maternity health services,” he said.health
