The government says it will implement a cocktail of measures to stem the tide of brain drain bedevilling the country’s health sector.
The emigration by doctors and nurses has left public health facilities struggling to provide adequate health care for all Zimbabweans.
Speaking yesterday after the Cabinet meeting, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said the Inter-Ministerial Committee had suggested measures to reverse the trend. She said:
To stem the brain drain a committee was therefore set up to look holistically into the following issues: mechanisms to accelerate the provision of non-monetary incentives, such as staff accommodation, transport, vehicle loans, canteens and cafeterias, and wifi-facilities connectivity; measures to improve the remuneration of tutors in nurses training colleges and administration of nurses training colleges; judicious adjustment of monetary benefits; and addressing the disparity between the urban and rural health personnel incentives in order to attract personnel to rural areas.
Mutsvangwa also said that the government was also pursuing bilateral agreements with destination countries for local health professionals within the World Health Organisation framework.