Ministry of Health and Child Care Plans to Recruit 20,000 Village Health Workers

The Ministry of Health and Child Care has unveiled plans to recruit at least 20,000 village health workers to enhance primary healthcare services in rural communities. This move is part of the ministry's efforts to strengthen the community of workers through refresher courses and integration into the formal health system. The permanent secretary for Health and Child Care, Dr. Aspect Maunganidze, has also emphasized the importance of training primary care nurses (PCNs) to boost health services delivery, especially in rural areas.

Key Takeaways:

• The Ministry of Health and Child Care plans to recruit at least 20,000 village health workers to enhance primary healthcare services in rural communities, increasing the current number from approximately 22,000 to 40,000.
• The ministry has revived the training of primary care nurses (PCNs) to boost health services delivery, especially in rural areas, after it had been stopped for a while.
• Dr. Aspect Maunganidze emphasized the importance of prioritizing rural healthcare workers for further education and postgraduate training, with incentives such as active allowances and prioritization of rural healthcare workers in postgraduate training.
• The ministry is working on strengthening community worker strategies through refresher courses and integration into the formal health system.
• Dr. Maunganidze also emphasized the need for more resources to construct additional rural healthcare centers, including the introduction of eHealth services to enhance linkages between primary healthcare centers and referral institutions.
• The Second Republic, led by President Mnangagwa, has been building more healthcare facilities across the country, reducing the distance walked by those seeking health services to approximately 5 km, down from over 25 km in 2018.

Statistics:

• The Ministry of Health and Child Care plans to increase the number of village health workers from approximately 22,000 to 40,000 in rural communities.
• In 2018, many people in rural areas were walking for over 25 km to the nearest health facility, but the distance has been reduced to approximately 5 km since the Second Republic started building more healthcare facilities.
• The Second Republic has built more healthcare facilities across the country, with devolution funds deployed to construct clinics and health posts.

Sources:

• Dr. Aspect Maunganidze, Permanent Secretary for Health and Child Care.
• Ministry of Health and Child Care.
• [No specific publication date or source].

Note: The source does not mention the date of the interview or the exact publication of the information, so I have chosen not to add any dates.