BY STAFF REPORTER
Government says it is implementing several measures aimed at improving healthcare services in Binga District, including deploying more nurses, intensifying outreach programmes and strengthening disease control interventions in remote communities.
The update was given in Parliament by Deputy Health and Child Care Minister Sleiman Kwidini in response to questions from Binga North MP Joseph Cumanzala.
Cumanzala had asked Government to explain what interventions were being undertaken to improve healthcare delivery in rural Binga, reduce malaria and waterborne diseases and expand healthcare facilities in the district.
Responding in Parliament, Kwidini said Government intended to increase the national health workforce significantly by 2030.
“To ensure an adequate health workforce, the Ministry of Health and Child Care is planning to double the number of health workers by 2030,” he said.
He added that Binga had already received additional primary healthcare nurses deployed across rural health centres to strengthen service delivery.
Kwidini said outreach programmes remained a key strategy in addressing healthcare access challenges in remote communities.
“For the hard-to-reach communities, we have managed to sustain outreach services, especially for the immunisation of children under five years,” he said.
“Outreach services mean our health teams will bring health services directly into communities to cater for the elderly and young ones, thus reducing travel distance to health facilities,” he added.
The deputy minister also highlighted Government efforts to control diseases common in the Zambezi Valley.
“With the help of the head office, the district has managed to put neglected tropical diseases such as bilharzia under control through mass drug administration working together with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education,” Kwidini said.
Binga remains among Zimbabwe’s malaria-prone districts because of its climatic conditions and proximity to large water bodies including Lake Kariba and the Zambezi River.
The parliamentary response comes as communities in the district continue calling for better-equipped clinics, improved ambulance services and increased staffing in rural health centres.