Only 7% of Zimbabweans have access to medical insurance, leaving 93% to rely on cash payments for healthcare, according to a report by the Community Working Group on Health (CWGH). This stark disparity highlights the severe challenges faced by the majority in accessing quality healthcare in Zimbabwe.
A comparison with other Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) countries reveals Zimbabwe is lagging behind its regional peers. In Zambia, 35% of citizens have medical insurance, while in Botswana, the figure is 42%.
The CWGH report emphasizes that National Health Insurance (NHI) schemes can help bridge this gap. It notes that high unemployment rates and extreme poverty, affecting 49% of the population, exacerbate the situation. Zimbabwe is already rated as Africa’s most expensive country by the African Development Bank, making out-of-pocket healthcare payments even more burdensome.
Health insurance is increasingly seen as essential for protecting households from financial stress and impoverishment due to healthcare costs. The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes health insurance as a crucial step toward achieving universal health coverage.
The CWGH report, titled “Proposed National Health Insurance,” underscores the need for a national scheme to improve healthcare delivery by making more resources available.
“About 7% of Zimbabweans have access to medical insurance and this number is insufficient to ensure decent public healthcare,” the CWGH stated. “The implementation of a national health insurance scheme in the country can improve healthcare delivery as more resources for health become available.”
The report expresses concern about the government’s ability to deliver high-quality medical services comparable to those in expensive private facilities. It urges the government to manage competing private sector interests and address inequalities and trade-offs that could arise from implementing the NHI scheme.
“CWGH remains deeply concerned about the government’s ability to steer and sustain this noble project and to ensure that competing private sector interests, and the inevitable inequalities and trade-offs that could be created, are better managed,” the report read. “The CWGH, therefore, calls upon all citizens of Zimbabwe and civil society to unite behind a people’s National Health Insurance to ensure that the principles of the right to health, universality, and social solidarity are adhered to throughout the implementation process.”
This week, Discovery Ambulance Emergency Services acknowledged these disparities and announced plans to repackage its subscription products to make them more affordable and accessible, aiming to bridge the gap and provide Zimbabweans with accessible emergency cover.
According to the WHO, Zimbabwe’s Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Service Coverage Index was 55.04 in 2021, up from 54.00 in 2017. In comparison, Zambia’s index is 55.84, and South Africa’s is 70.95. The UHC Service Coverage Index measures the average coverage of essential services, including reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health, infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, and service capacity and access, on a scale from 0 (worst) to 100 (best).
The severe health insurance gap in Zimbabwe underscores the urgent need for a national health insurance scheme. Such a scheme would help ensure that all Zimbabweans have access to quality healthcare, mitigating the financial burdens that currently plague the majority of the population. The government, civil society, and private sector must work together to make this vision a reality, ensuring the principles of universality and social solidarity are upheld.
Source: Newsday
