Harare, 1 Dec. 2015: The Zimbabwe Health Professions Authority is one of the best examples of regulatory bodies in Africa, Dr. David Okello, Representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Zimbabwe has said.

Addressing over 300 delegates at the annual congress of the regulatory body held at the end November 2015 in the capital, Harare, Dr. Okello said that the Zimbabwe Health Professions Authority has been instrumental in advocating for health professionals to take seriously the issue of medical ethics such as proper diagnosis, treatment and prescriptions, as well as to go for normal delivery instead of rushing for caesarean sections.

“Zimbabwe Health Professions Authority is known for promoting high quality healthcare in line with WHO’s vision of upholding high standards of healthcare delivery by coordinating and regulating all activities of health professionals,” he said. “In recognition of the high organizational set-up and services of the Zimbabwe Health Professions Authority, WHO has facilitated study tours to Zimbabwe for some African countries that were planning to set up or strengthen their health professional governing bodies,” Dr. Okello added.

The regulatory body has played a significant role in improving the health conditions of Zimbabweans.  Despite challenging economic conditions and dwindling allocations of the national budget to health, recent statistics available in the health sector indicate that mortality rate for children under five years of age has dropped from 84 per 1000 live births in 2010 to 75 per 1000 live births in 2014. Maternal mortality which reached 960 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2010 dropped by one thirds to 614 deaths per 100,000 births in 2014.

The annual congress noted the need to address emerging health challenges of non-communicable diseases. Non-communicable diseases is surpassing HIV and AIDS as the leading cause of death in Zimbabwe. Road traffic injuries are claiming just too many lives already. Furthermore, cervical cancer is on the rise among women in Zimbabwe while Diabetes prevalence is on the rise.

“We must work together to strengthen health systems to effectively address both communicable and non-communicable diseases” explained Dr Okello, underscoring the need to quickly determine the current burden of non-communicable diseases in order to design effective intervention mechanisms.

As a professional body entrusted with, among other things, overseeing quality assurance, Dr. Okello advised the regulatory body to advocate for increased human resources for health and an effective healthcare system.

In an effort to tame and reverse the brain drain of health professionals, WHO  has been spearheading dialogue with developed countries to seek how best they can help developing countries to retain their healthcare professionals, whilst allowing systematic migration on win-win arrangements.

The Health professions Authority, established in 2001, plays major roles:  acting as the umbrella body for health profession councils, acting as an appealing body for any dispute between health practitioners and their councils, and protection of public interest.

The regulatory body works with health service providers to encouraged the latter to increase the number of health institutions, both public and private, in remote rural areas and advocates for cost-efficient health services so that the poor can access universal health care.

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For more information, please contact:

JULIAS Wendy, Email: juliasw [at] who.int