Africa-Press – Zambia. PS KAWANA SAYS THE UPND GOVERNMENT HAS FULFILLED OVER 90% OF PROMISES MADE IN HEALTH SECTOR
He writes………
The UPND NEW DAWN GOVERNMENT under the able stewardship of Mr. President, Hakainde Hichilema, has achieved over 90 percent of the promises it made to the Zambian people with the Health Sector recording significant progress.
Health is crucial for national development as a healthy population drives economic growth, productivity, and overall societal well-being. Investing in health infrastructure and programs not only saves lives but also enhances human capital, making individuals more productive and contributing to a stronger economy.
2021-2024 IMPLEMENTATION STATUS OF THE UPND NEW DAWN GOVERNMENT KEY POLICY REFORMS IN THE HEALTH SECTOR
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1. Introduce Policies to Improve the Mobilising, Utilising and Accounting for Health Financing Resources, eventually enhancing the quality of Health Care and Services
✅ The health sector budget allocation as proportion of the national budget increased from 10.4% in 2023 to 11.8% in 2024.
✅ The Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency (ZAMMSA) Drug Fund has been operationalized to facilitate the pooling of resources for the procurement and distribution of medicines and medical supplies.
✅ The allocation of funds for the procurement and distribution of medicines and medical
supplies increased from ZKW4.6 billion in 2023 to ZKW4.9 billion in 2024.
✅ Drug stock availability has increased to 85 percent at health centers and 76 percent at the hospital level, from 37 percent and 46 percent in 2021, respectively. This is above the 70 percent threshold recommended by the World Health Organization.
✅ Two percent (2%) of funding totaling ZKW 100,513,268 from the 2024 medicine budget has been provided to support ZAMMSA’s distribution of medical products.
2. Reformation of the National Health Insurance System to ensure the benefits of the system are available to all Citizens
✅ The Authority in June 2024 deliberately accelerated its accreditation of public health care providers during which 33 public health facilities were accredited bringing the total to 212 against 231 private facilities.
✅ This was to enhance coverage across the country and access by all citizens. The scheme added the following to the benefits package, antenatal, mental health, cancer services like radiotherapy and brachytherapy, orthopedic
implants, and major eye surgeries were moved to public health facilities.
✅ The process to review the NHIMA legislation (NHI Act No. 2 of 2018 and SINo. 63 of 2019) commenced.
3. Human Capacity
✅ The New Dawn Administration has been recruiting health personnel ever since it assumed office.
✅ During the last three years, over 14,216
frontline health workers have been recruited. This year, 4,000 more health workers will be recruited.
✅ An additional 2,000 frontline health
personnel will be hired in 2025, bringing the total to 20,276.
4. Infrastructure Development
✅ Government has also completed constructing 279 health facilties across the country, out of which, 164 were constructed using CDF.
✅ These facilities include 115 mini-hospitals, 33 health centers, and 131 health posts.
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