MARTIN MAWAYA
GWERU– A local civic organization, Champions Without Borders (CWB), has called on government to place health financing at the centre of the 2026 national budget, warning that continued underinvestment in the sector threatens to reverse the gains made so far and deepen inequality.
CWB director Jacob Ngwenya said the coming budget was a defining test of government’s commitment to universal health coverage and sustainable human development.
He noted that Zimbabwe’s health allocation currently around 10% of the national purse still falls short of the 15% target pledged under the 2001 Abuja Declaration.
“Investing in health is not a cost but an engine of productivity and a shield against poverty. When health costs hurt, families suffer but when government invests in health, the nation prospers,” said Ngwenya.
According to the organization’s policy brief, out-of-pocket medical expenses remain among the highest in the region, forcing citizens to borrow, sell property, or forgo treatment altogether.
One of the case studies is that of a mother who said, “When my child needed insulin, I had to borrow money from neighbours. Skipping treatment was not an option, but the financial burden pushed us deeper into poverty.”
CWB said such stories reveal the hidden poverty trap of healthcare costs, urging the government to create financial protection mechanisms such as a national health insurance fund to reduce the burden on households.
Ngwenya argued that increased health spending should be viewed as a strategic economic investment, not merely a social cost.
He said every US$1 spent on health generates up to US$4 in productivity gains, highlighting the direct link between a healthy population and economic growth.
The organization recommended that treasury ring-fence health allocations to prevent mid-year diversions and prioritize rural and underserved communities, where shortages of medicines, medical personnel, and diagnostic tools remain critical.
Despite progress in tackling HIV, TB, malaria and non-communicable diseases, public hospitals continue to experience drug stock-outs, staff shortages, and poor infrastructure.
These gaps, CWB noted, push citizens toward expensive private care, further widening the inequality gap.
Ngwenya urged Parliament’s Budget and Finance and Health and Child Care committees to strengthen oversight of health funds and ensure transparency in expenditure.
They proposed that government raise the health budget to 15 percent in line with the Abuja Declaration, expand social health insurance schemes, strengthen primary health care systems by recruiting and retaining frontline health workers, and ensure consistent supplies of essential medicines and diagnostic tools.
The organization also called for closer collaboration between government, civil society, and community groups to monitor health spending.
It further suggested practical solutions such as introducing a National Health Insurance Fund targeting informal sector workers, leveraging public-private partnerships to improve rural hospital infrastructure, adopting digital health monitoring systems to track drug stocks and spending, and implementing performance-based budgeting to ensure efficient and result-oriented use of health resources.
Ngwenya said the 2026 National Budget presents a unique opportunity for Zimbabwe to treat health as the heart of national productivity rather than a cost centre, adding that “a healthy citizen is the foundation of a prosperous nation.”
The Parliament has already started the public consultations for the 2026 National Budget, with legislators from the Portfolio Committee on Budget, Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion engaging citizens across the country to gather their input.
