Zimbabwe

This paper describes a programme in Zimbabwe aimed at responding more effectively to the HIV/AIDS epidemic by reinforcing a critical competence-based training institution and producing public health leaders. [adapted from abstract]

In Zimbabwe, as in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, home-based care (HBC) plays a vital role in the response to HIV as overwhelmed public health and welfare systems fail to cope with the demands of the epidemic. This document details a project designed to contribute to better understanding and evidence-based decision-making in the implementation of HBC interventions in Zimbabwe and beyond. [adapted from executive summary]

Health facility assessments are being increasingly used to measure and monitor indicators of health workforce performance, but the global evidence base remains weak. The World Health Organization coordinated a series of facility-based surveys using a common approach in six countries: Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Jamaica, Mozambique, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. The objectives were to inform the development and monitoring of human resources for health policy within the countries; and to test and validate the use of standardized facility-based human resources assessment tools across different contexts.

Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV is among the key HIV prevention strategies in Zimbabwe. The main objective of this study was to evaluate acceptability and feasibility of reinforcing the role of traditional birth attendants (TBAs) in family and child health services through their participation in PMTCT programmes in Zimbabwe. [from abstract]

This paper investigates the impact of the framework and strategies to retain critical health professionals (CHPs) that the Zimbabwean government has put in place, particularly regarding non-financial incentives, in the face of continuing high out-migration. [from summary]

This brief is a best practice model for improving the quality and accessibility of family planning and HIV services in rural communities in Zimbabwe. [from author]

This study explored the distribution of public sector health workers [in Zimbabwe] to show how its pattern impacts on equity objectives in health care delivery. [from executive summary]

The paper investigates the magnitude of migration of health professionals from Zimbabwe, the causes of such movements and the associated impacts on health care delivery. International migration of health professionals has led to staff shortages and the situation is worse in public compared to private health institutions. The quality of care given to patients has also declined. The research calls for the adoption of an integrated approach in solving the concerns of health professions. [abstract]

This paper describes the specific policy measures that the Zimbabwean government has recently implemented to try to improve health sector performance, and promote higher levels of motivation amongst public sector health care workers. The overall reform package is to include financial reforms (user fees and social insurance), strengthening of health management, liberalization and regulation of the private health sector, decentralization, and contracting out. Unfortunately, the process of reform implementation in Zimbabwe and the government’s poor communication with workers, combined with a conflict between local cultures and the measures being implemented, has undermined the potentially positive effect of reforms on health worker motivation.

This presentation was part of the ECSA Regional Health Ministers’ Conference. It describes the Zimbabwean efforts to scale-up family planning including: challenges, strategies, HRH implications of the strategies, the results, emerging issues and coping mechanisms.


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Ensuring the availability of essential drugs and using them appropriately are crucial if limited resources for health care are to be used optimally. While training of health workers throughout Zimbabwe in drug management (including stock management and rational drug use) resulted in significant improvements in a variety of drug use indicators, these achievements could not be sustained, and a new strategy was introduced based on the supervision of primary health care providers.

Through its work with the Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council and the Kenya Ministry of Health/Division of Primary Health Care, JHPIEGO facilitated the adaptation of materials to improve the performance of IUD service providers through structured on-the-job training (OJT). In Zimbabwe, providers at 14 sites learned IUD/genital tract infection skills by means of structured OJT. At the same time, in August 1996, JHPIEGO began pilot testing this structured OJT in Kenya at six provincial hospitals. Although the pilot test was intended to train about 40 service providers in both countries (two per site), it actually produced 50 providers who achieved competency during 4 to 6 weeks of self-paced learning. [publisher’s description]

HIV counselling and testing is a key component of both HIV care and HIV prevention, but uptake is currently low. We investigated the impact of rapid HIV testing at the workplace on uptake of voluntary counselling and testing (VCT). [author’s description]

The study aimed to establish the magnitude of migration of health professionals, its causes and to document the associated impacts on service delivery. [author’s description]

This study aims to examine the range of impacts the [HIV/AIDS] pandemic has had on selected NGO partners of Oxfam operating in South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, and to make recommendations useful to NGOs, including Oxfam, donors, and policy-makers based on its results. [author’s description]

The challenge of tackling HIV/AIDS was taken up by African Heads of State at their summit in Abuja in 2001. This led to the Abuja Declaration, the primary goal of which is to reverse the accelerating rate of HIV infection, TB and other related infectious diseases.

This report is based on research carried out by ActionAid International in Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria and Zimbabwe and provides a comparative analysis of the achievements and challenges faced by these four African countries in relation to the Declaration. [Adapted from author]

This report presents findings of a study on the migration of health professionals in Cameroon, Ghana, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe. The report provides detailed information about migration patterns and numbers, reasons for migration, effects on the quality of health care and the policies being undertaken in the respective countries to reduce outward migration. [from executive summary]