CWGH on Workers’ Day: Government must reward health workers

As the World celebrates Workers’ Day today, the Community Working Group on Health (CWGH) is calling upon the government to remunerate the health workers well and improve their working conditions to curb the current brain drain that has quickened the collapse of the sector.

“Let us also make sure that health workers are provided with all the necessary tools of the trade, health institutions are well equipped with the essential medicines and modern medical equipment.

“One of the major challenges facing the Zimbabwean’s public health care system is brain drain. Doctors, nurses, and pharmacists have left and continue to leave the country to destinations like South Africa, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia to name just a few. In fact, Zimbabwean health professionals are found in nearly all countries, including non-traditional destinations such as Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Spain,” said Mr. Itai Rusike, the CWGH Executive Director.

He argued that the country has failed to stabilize the brain drain, and some health facilities are operating with skeletal staff due to a lack of staff thereby overwhelming the few health workers that have remained resulting in staff burnout and low staff morale.

Mr. Rusike said healthcare workers (HCWs) continue to be trained but fail to fill the posts established in the 1980s, let alone the posts and establishment required to deal with the current population, disease epidemiology, and health and development targets.

“They have continued to enrich other establishments and countries while the gap they leave in the country’s institutions continues to glare. The current economic downturn characterized by the high cost of food prices as well as spiraling inflation has unfortunately worsened the situation.

“As we celebrate May 1, we must remember that many workers are being injured or dying in avoidable work-related incidents. The CWGH expresses its solidarity with all workers in formal, informal, rural, urban, and domestic employment in Zimbabwe.,” CWGH added.