By A Correspondent
Zimbabwean lawmakers are urging President Emmerson Mnangagwa to declare the country’s collapsing public health system a national disaster—an urgent call aimed at unlocking emergency resources and galvanizing meaningful intervention.
The plea comes amid mounting public frustration over the deteriorating state of healthcare.
Public hospitals are grappling with acute shortages of essential drugs, medical equipment, and staff, leaving thousands of patients without adequate care. The crisis reached a tipping point earlier this week when Youth Minister Tino Machakaire broke ranks to publicly plead with the president to step in.
Speaking to a local daily, Chairperson of Parliament’s Health Portfolio Committee, Josiah Makombe, confirmed that Parliament has formally moved to escalate the issue.
“What we have done as a committee is to escalate our engagements on the issues. On Tuesday last week, we initiated the move,” Makombe said.
He stressed that a national disaster declaration could enable the country to attract international support and fast-track funding to the struggling health sector.
“We believe this is now beyond ordinary challenges. It’s a humanitarian emergency,” he added.
Makombe’s remarks come as the government faces intensifying criticism over its management of the health system. Basic consumables like gloves and syringes are in short supply. Many patients are forced to buy their own supplies or seek costly private care—an impossible burden for most Zimbabweans.
In a rare show of dissent from within the ruling establishment, Youth Minister Tino Machakaire urged President Mnangagwa to “personally intervene” to revive the nation’s crumbling health institutions.
Meanwhile, frontline health workers continue to speak out about dire working conditions, stagnant wages, and the exodus of skilled professionals.
Makombe made it clear that symbolic gestures are no longer enough.
“This is not just about drugs and doctors. It’s about the very survival of our people,” he said. “Declaring a state of disaster would allow us to treat it with the urgency it deserves.”
As of now, there has been no official response from the Office of the President. But with pressure mounting from both Parliament and the public, the demand for decisive leadership grows louder by the day.