Source: Govt pushes to ring-fence funds from sugar tax and health-related levies – herald
Rumbidzayi Zinyuke
Senior Health Reporter
THE Government is moving to fundamentally change how the country finances healthcare by ensuring revenue collected through sugar taxes and other health-related levies will not be diverted to other competing national priorities.
Speaking on the sidelines of the recently concluded World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, Health and Child Care Minister Dr Douglas Mombeshora said the move would help close persistent funding gaps affecting service delivery.
He said Treasury and his ministry were engaged in ongoing discussions to ensure that money collected for health programmes is reserved specifically for the sector.
“Our plan now is to have monies that are meant for health programmes ring-fenced. The money is collected for health purposes, but if it is not ring-fenced, it can then be used for other things.
“We think that has been the main problem for us — failing to get the money that is meant for health programmes,” he said.
Zimbabwe introduced the sugar tax and fast-food tax as part of broader efforts to curb the growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity and heart disease, while at the same time mobilising additional resources for the health sector.
Dr Mombeshora said ring-fencing the funds would enable the ministry to plan more effectively and guarantee consistent financing for key programmes.
The Government, he said, had already begun engaging Parliament and the Presidency on new funding models that would ensure sustainability of healthcare financing.
“There has been a bit of resistance, but I think we have got the support of our President, who has accepted that these taxes should be introduced and, secondly, that they must be linked to health programmes,” he said.
“If all this money was ring-fenced, we would not be worried at all because it would mean we still have that money available for health services.”
The Government last year used part of the sugar tax proceeds to procure cancer treatment equipment as part of efforts to improve cancer care services in public hospitals, marking one of the first major investments financed through the levy.
Dr Mombeshora said improved health financing was critical at a time when the country was battling maternal and neonatal mortality, nutrition challenges and the growing burden of NCDs.
He noted that while Zimbabwe had made progress in reducing maternal mortality from around 634 deaths per 100 000 live births to about 210 per 100 000, the figures remained too high.
“But the figure is still very high and what worries us is the institutional deaths. We would expect that when a mother delivers at a facility the outcome should be better,” he said.
He said the Government was strengthening training for healthcare workers, improving referral systems and enhancing maternal and neonatal healthcare services to reduce preventable deaths.
He also raised concern over the rapid increase in unhealthy eating habits, particularly among children and young people, despite the introduction of the sugar tax and fast-food tax.
“When sugar tax was introduced and the fast-food tax, it was to try and discourage people from taking sugary drinks and also from going for these takeaways, pizzas and other fast foods.
“But fast foods are proliferating. I think it is more a question of knowledge and awareness.
“We need to educate parents and communities on healthy lifestyles,” he said.
Health experts say ring-fencing health taxes could provide Zimbabwe with a more predictable source of funding for critical programmes including cancer treatment, maternal health services, emergency care, nutrition interventions and the fight against NCDs.
The post Govt pushes to ring-fence funds from sugar tax and health-related levies appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.