Zimbabwe’s Healthcare System in Ruins

The Zimbabwe Nurses Association has warned that the country’s public hospitals are on the verge of collapse, with staff forced to work in dire conditions lacking basic supplies and equipment, putting countless lives at risk and prompting urgent calls for government intervention.

The Zimbabwe Nurses Association (ZINA) has issued a dire warning, urging the government to take immediate action to prevent the total collapse of the country’s public healthcare system. In a statement released on Tuesday, ZINA president Enock Dongo described the situation in public hospitals as “unbearable,” highlighting a chronic shortage of essential supplies, deteriorating infrastructure, and dangerously overstretched medical staff.

According to Dongo, nurses are being forced to improvise on a daily basis in an effort to save lives under "impossible conditions." In many facilities, wards lack blankets and have broken windows, leaving patients exposed to the harsh winter cold. Basic medical equipment and diagnostic tools, such as X-ray machines and laboratory testing services, are either non-functional or completely unavailable.

"We cannot continue like this," Dongo said. "The system has failed. Patients are in pain, and nurses are exhausted and unsupported. Without urgent intervention, more lives will be lost unnecessarily."

ZINA also reported that patients are frequently told to buy their own medication and are often referred to private hospitals when public facilities cannot offer even the most basic care. However, with the majority of citizens unable to afford private healthcare, many are left to suffer in overcrowded, under-resourced public wards.

The association’s statement came just days after Health and Child Care Minister Douglas Mombeshora toured Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals — the country’s largest referral hospital — and publicly admitted its poor state. His comments have done little to reassure healthcare workers, who say similar warnings have been ignored by the government for years.

Over the past several years, health professionals across Zimbabwe have repeatedly submitted petitions and staged peaceful protests, calling for improved working conditions and proper funding for the sector. These efforts, however, have largely been met with silence or temporary measures that do not address the root of the crisis.

ZINA is now calling on the government to prioritise the healthcare sector by equipping hospitals with basic materials, restoring functional diagnostic services, and providing adequate support for medical staff.

“We are not asking for luxuries,” Dongo stated. “We are asking for the minimum required to do our jobs and to save lives. Every delay in action is a death sentence for someone who could have been treated.”

As winter deepens and hospital conditions worsen, pressure is mounting on the government to act swiftly. Healthcare workers say they are reaching breaking point — and the country’s public health system may soon follow.