• There are a lot of damages in the health sector because of Covid and poor funding.
• Zambians have lost confidence in the health sector due to inadequate funding.
• Government must also recruit more health workers and ensure availability of essential drugs.

Medical for Quality Healthcare in Zambia (MQHZ) has advised the Ministry of Finance to increase next year’s national budgetary allocation to the Health sector from the current 8 percent to over 15 percent.
Speaking in an interview with Money FM News, Organization Director General Dr. Quince Mwabu t the over 15 percent health sector budget is in line with the National Health Strategic Plan as well as the Abuja Declaration.
Dr. Mwabu stated that the organization would also want to see more recruitment of health workers in all the hospitals and clinics and also more essential drugs and medical supplies.
“There are a lot of damages in the health sector because of Covid-19 and poor funding. We therefore urge the Minister of Finance to ensure increased 2022 national budgetary allocation towards the provision of health care services from the current 8 percent to over 15 percent which is in line with both the National Health Strategic Plan and also the Abuja Declaration,” Dr. Mwabu said.
And Dr. Mwabu noted that Zambians have lost confidence in the health sector due to inadequate funding, making them to receive compromised health care services.
He expressed hope that the new government will work towards improving the health system where people will be receiving health care services without being compromised.
“People have lost confidence in the health sector, but if we put more funds so that we provide quality health care services in the hospitals, definitely people are going to have that confidence. We have a lot of expectations but we would like to see more recruitment of health workers, more drugs in the hospitals, more medical machinery in the hospitals so that people can receive uncompromised health care services. We want to see Zambia become a medical tour hub in Africa,” he stated.
Minister of Finance Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane is expected to present the 2022 national budget later this month.