ON Friday morning, President Edgar Lungu would have literally “pointed” at some of his government’s successes in the health sector.
But he was officially opening Parliament. So, he simply listed them and it was done as written below.
The President said to improve access to quality health services, government has continued to construct and equip health facilities across the country.
He reported to Parliament, happily, that a total of 439 health posts and 24 mini-hospitals, as well as, Chinsali and Kalindawalo General Hospitals have been completed and that they were now operational.
Chinsali General Hospital is in Muchinga Province, while the imposing Kalindawalo General Hospital is in Petauke district, Eastern Province.
The President said the Levy Mwanawasa Hospital in Lusaka has been upgraded from 120 to 850 bed capacity.
“We have also created an isolation facility for COVID-19 patients at the Levy Mwanawasa Hospital. Construction of the Lusaka Specialised Hospital is at 95 per cent while the Bangweulu General Hospital in Lupososhi district of Northern Province is at 30 per cent,” President Lungu said.
“Further, works have started at the King Salman bin Abdulla Aziz Women and Children’s Specialised Hospital in Lusaka.”
He also noted that in 2019, the government operationalised the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme for the attainment of universal health coverage.
In that regard, the Head of State informed the House that so far, 540,000 employees have been registered on the Scheme and that more than 126 healthcare facilities have been accredited to the Scheme.
“It is expected that 800,000 employees will be registered by the end of this year,” said President Lungu, adding that human resource for health remains a critical component in the provision of quality health services to Zambians.
“As part of the emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2,232 health workers were recruited and deployed. Since 2017, government has recruited over 23,000 health workers.”
“The recruitment of these health workers is part of my government’s agenda to create jobs and reduce unemployment, especially among the youth.”
©Kalemba September 13, 2020
