Zimbabwe’s Parliament has begun considering submissions on proposed amendments to Statutory Instrument 330 of 2000, with healthcare funders warning that the reforms could destabilise the country’s fragile health delivery system.
The Association of Health Funders of Zimbabwe has petitioned Parliament urging lawmakers to reconsider aspects of the proposed reforms, arguing that they risk disrupting healthcare delivery, discouraging private sector investment and placing additional pressure on already overstretched public hospitals.
AHFoZ said the amendments require broader consultation, particularly with members of medical aid societies who would ultimately bear the direct impact of the regulatory changes.
According to the Parliamentary programme, the Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care is expected to hear submissions from AHFoZ following oral evidence presented by the National Pharmaceutical Company board and management at the New Parliament Building in Mt Hampden. The date for the AHFoZ hearing is yet to be confirmed.
The hearings come amid intensifying national debate over reforms that seek to restrict medical aid societies from owning or operating healthcare facilities such as hospitals and clinics.
Healthcare providers and industry stakeholders argue that separating funding institutions from service provision could weaken one of the few functioning pillars of Zimbabwe’s healthcare system.
Industry players warn that dismantling vertically integrated healthcare models without adequate transition measures could trigger significant job losses, reduce private healthcare investment and shift thousands of patients back into the public health system.
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Recent sector estimates suggest that more than 10,000 jobs could be affected should the proposed amendments be implemented.
Operators have also raised concerns that investments worth hundreds of millions of dollars — built over decades through hospitals, pharmacies, diagnostic centres and clinical infrastructure — could be placed at risk under the proposed regulatory framework.
Critics further caution that weakening medical aid societies may reduce healthcare access for insured patients at a time when demand for affordable healthcare services continues to rise.
Chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care, Discent Bajila, has previously indicated that reforms to SI 330 must balance patient protection, affordability and the long-term sustainability of the medical aid sector.
Parliament’s engagement with AHFoZ is expected to play a decisive role in determining whether the amendments are refined, postponed or significantly revised before implementation.
The SI 330 review has quickly emerged as one of Zimbabwe’s most closely watched healthcare policy debates, drawing attention from healthcare professionals, funders, labour representatives and citizens concerned about the future of accessible healthcare.
The ongoing hearings are likely to influence one of the country’s most consequential healthcare policy decisions in recent years.
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