To provide, administer, coordinate, promote and advocate for the provision of equitable, appropriate, accessible, affordable and acceptable quality health services and care to Zimbabweans while maximizing the use of available resources, in line with the Primary Health Care approach
Zimbabwe Overview
Background
Zimbabwe recently engaged HEALTHQUAL to establish quality management and improvement initiatives for the national AIDS & TB programme.
HIV quality management and improvement activities are implemented within the context of the national quality assurance and quality improvement strategies. A phased approach will be used to introduce and scale up QM activities, initially focusing on a few core indicators in coordination with DS & TB Units in liaison with the technical working group for HIV quality management and improvement.
Demographic Data
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered by South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana, Namibia and Zambia
- The country has a total surface area=390 760km2
- The country is divided into 8 administrative provinces and 2 metropolitan provinces Harare and Bulawayo
- The provinces are further divided into districts and wards
- The estimated population of Zimbabwe is 12.1 million based on the 2002 census (census conducted in 2012 but results are pending)
- 0-14 years: 41.9% (male 2,555,916/female 2,504,947)
- 15-64 years: 54.3% (male 3,063,580/female 3,500,366)
- 65 years and over: 3.8% (male 193,380/female 266,115) (2011 est)
- The estimated life expectancy is 52 years for both males and females (2011)
HIV/AIDS Epidemic
- An estimated 1,2million Zimbabweans are living with HIV based on the 2011 estimates
- Prevalence rate estimated at 15.0% for adults aged 15-49years (ZDHS 2010/2011)
- Incidence rate 1.07% for adults down from a peak of
- Estimated new infections for adults in 2011=61634
- Estimated new infections in children less than 15 years of age=9711
- Total Estimated HIV /AIDS related deaths in 2011=56603 including 10808 children
- HIV contributes to 26% of maternal deaths and 41% of child mortality
- Homogenous epidemic with the majority of transmission through heterosexual intercourse
Response to HIV Epidemic
- Since HIV was declared as a national emergency in 2002, the country has been implementing a multisectoral and multidisciplinary response with the National AIDS Council coordinating these activities
- Response has resulted in the decline in the estimated prevalence from a peak of 33% in the late ’90s to 15% in 2011
- The national antiretroviral therapy programme was established in the public sector in 2004 and has expanded rapidly from 5000 patients in 2004 to 476021 patients on ART in December 2011, translating to an overall coverage of 78%
- Coverage for children less than 15years of age remains low at 42%
- ART coverage has also expanded geographically with the health facilities providing ART services having increased from 7 in 2004 to 510 in December 2011
- ART is provided as part of a comprehensive package that includes HIV prevention, care and support
- A public health approach to the scale up of ART, that emphasizes on population based evidence base interventions is used to scale up HIV care & treatment services
- The country aims to achieve universal access to HIV care and treatment services by 2015
Team/Leadership
Dr. Josephine Matienga Chiware
Director, Quality Assurance
Ministry of Health and Child Care
Dr. Joseph Murungu
Quality Assurance Focal Person
Ministry of Health and Child Care
Dr B. B. Khabo (MBChB-UZ)
Quality Improvement Officer
Ministry of Health and Child Care
Program Organigram
