The Government has begun a phased programme to place village health workers on the national payroll in what officials describe as a major policy shift aimed at standardising pay and ending reliance on donor funding. Speaking in the National Assembly on Wednesday, Health and Child Care Minister Douglas Mombeshora said the state had assumed responsibility for paying thousands of village health workers who were previously funded largely by non-governmental organisations. “We were not paying the village health workers.
Some of the village health workers were being paid by different organisations and NGOs,” he told lawmakers. Zimbabwe has about 21 000 village health workers nationwide with an estimated 15 000 of them previously supported by NGOs. The workers play a critical role in delivering primary healthcare services particularly in rural communities.
Dr Mombeshora said discussions last year with the Ministry of Finance led to an agreement to gradually absorb the workers into government employment. Towards the end of last year, the Health Ministry was granted 5 284 posts — not all of them for village health workers — and about 3 500 people were taken on board. The minister said additional posts have already been requested this year to continue the transition expressing hope that by the end of next year all village health workers would be fully integrated and receiving monthly salaries from the state.
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In addition to formalising employment, the government has reviewed their remuneration. Dr Mombeshora said the former allowances would be converted into salaries worth three times what they previously received, following Treasury approval.
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