Population Services Zimbabwe (PSZ) has opened a new clinic in Harare’s central business district.
Officially opening the facility, today, Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care Sleiman Kwidini said the clinic would strengthen Government’s efforts to achieve universal health coverage by bringing quality and people-centred healthcare closer to communities.
“Today, we are opening another door to quality, accessible and people-centred primary healthcare,” Kwidini said.
He said the investment demonstrated the benefits of collaboration between Government, the private sector and development partners, particularly the Government of Sweden, which supported the project.
“This clinic contributes directly to these priorities by bringing healthcare closer to the thousands of people who live, work and conduct business in the Harare CBD.
“The facility would also support Zimbabwe’s efforts to improve access to family planning, adolescent sexual and reproductive health services and age-appropriate information for young people,” he added.
He said Government was working to reduce the unmet need for family planning, remove barriers to contraceptive use and strengthen the availability of reproductive health commodities.
“We want to increase the modern contraceptive prevalence rate while contributing to reductions in maternal mortality and teenage pregnancies.
The family planning should not be viewed solely as contraception, but as a means of enabling individuals and families to make informed decisions about their health, future and the wellbeing of their children,” Kwidini said.
Kwidini added that Zimbabwe’s growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancers required a shift from treating illness to prevention, screening and early diagnosis.
“We therefore need to move from a culture of treating illness to one that emphasises prevention, screening and early diagnosis,” he said.
PSZ now operates seven clinics across Zimbabwe, with another facility expected to open in Bulawayo next month with Swedish support.
