Zimbabwe was once a model functional healthcare system in post colonial Africa, boasting a strong primary healthcare system and skilled healthcare workers under the Mugabe administration. In 2008, Zimbabwe had a 76.9 billion percent inflation rate and this worsened the state of the healthcare system which has not recovered today and is relying mostly on donor funding to keep running.
Health status
The top three health threats facing Zimbabweans are HIV, TB and malaria, all of which are highly preventable. These diseases contribute effectively to maternal and childhood death, with a maternal mortality rate of 365 per 100,000 according to the latest census report. Declining economic conditions have led to the fall of one of Africa's most robust healthcare systems with underpaid skilled doctors fleeing to other countries and hospitals being under equipped even with the basic PPE. In 2019, more than 40% of the total number of deaths were attributed to HIV, lower respiratory infection, TB and malaria.
Life expectancy
According to the World Bank Data, Zimbabwe's life expectancy at birth was estimated at 62 in 2020, with 60 years for males and 63 years for females.
Malaria
Malaria is a major health problem in Zimbabwe with about half the population at risk. Malaria epidemiology varies across the country ranging from year-round transmission in lowland areas to epidemic-prone areas in highland areas. Transmission is seasonal, occurring primarily between November and April, correlating closely with rainfall. According to Zimbabwe's District Health Information System-2, approximately 82 percent of malaria cases in 2016 originated from three eastern provinces (Manicaland, Mashonaland East, and Mashonaland Central), with 39 percent of all cases and 31 percent of all deaths coming from Manicaland. The concentrated trend of malaria cases and deaths in three provinces has remained consistent since 2013.
Reported cases decreased from 1.8 million in 2006 to 281,000 in 2016 (20.5 per 1,000 population per year). New cases mostly occur along the Zimbabwe-Mozambique border, including Manicaland, where Anopheles funestus (mosquito vector) resistance to pyrethroid class insecticides was identified in 2013. It is difficult to quantify if the case burden in this area is also due to migration across the border, strengthened surveillance systems, or ineffective malaria control interventions.
Cholera
A 2008 cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe began in August 2008, swept across the country and spread to Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia. By 10 January 2010 there had been 98,741 reported cases and 4,293 deaths making it the deadliest African cholera outbreak since 1993. The Government of Zimbabwe declared the outbreak a national emergency and requested international aid.
There was also a 2018-2019 cholera outbreak with a total of 10,421 cases, including 69 deaths.
Following Cyclones Idai and Kenneth, 490,000 people were vaccinated in Chimanimani and Chipinge districts in Manicaland Province with the goal of preempting a possible cholera outbreak. There were no cholera cases following the cyclones in Zimbabwe, but there were cases in neighboring Mozambique.
HIV/AIDS
Zimbabwe was and still is one of the countries that have been strongly affected by HIV/AIDS. HIV is the leading cause of death in Zimbabwe with a minimum of 19.4% of deaths in 2019 being attributed to HIV. Several donors have invested in managing HIV infections in Zimbabwe and it is running a 502 million grant from the sixth cycle of the Global Fund. The immensity of this health issue can be clearly determined through this particular statistic: one in every five children are orphaned due to the HIV/AIDS crisis – making an overall number of approximately 1 million orphans due to AIDS in 2011. In 2021, 6800 young people (ages 15–24) were newly infected with HIV This is the most vulnerable age group and unsafe sex tops the list of the causes of new HIV infections in this age group.
1.3 million people are estimated to be living with HIV in Zimbabwe out of the 15 million population. 91% of the people living with HIV were on antiretroviral therapy in 2021