VP heads to global health indaba 

Mukudzei Chingwere in MONTREUX, Switzerland

Vice President and Minister of Health and Child Care Dr Constantino Chiwenga is today expected to arrive in Switzerland to lead Zimbabwe’s participation at the Fifth Patient Safety Global Ministerial Summit and meet with top Swiss officials and private investors.

The summit brings together international health leaders as they seek to share notes and experiences in combating the continued exposure of patients to harm and secondary infections while in hospital or a health facility.

Zimbabwe’s invitation to attend this “very important” summit came from Switzerland leader President Alain Berset, who assumed the rotational Swiss presidency in January, and VP Chiwenga is due to meet top Swiss officials, international organisation representatives and private investors to discuss economic cooperation.

Ahead of his assumption of the Swiss presidency, President Berset in December last year dispatched Switzerland Ambassador to Zimbabwe Stephane Rey to deliver a special message on the European nation’s keenness to deepen economic ties with Zimbabwe.

The Swiss interest in doing business with Zimbabwe comes on the back of President Mnangagwa’s international investment charm offensive informed by his “Zimbabwe is open for business” mantra which has seen the return of international capital back to Zimbabwe after years of isolation.

President Mnangagwa has also emphasised that Zimbabwe’s diplomatic engagements should be guided by the need to further the country’s economic interests as he seeks to rapidly continue improving people’s lives up to the attainment of upper middle-income status by 2030.

Speaking to journalists here ahead of VP Chiwenga’s expected arrival, Zimbabwe’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other international organisations based in Geneva, Ambassador Stuart Comberbach, said VP Chiwenga had an important healthcare services fixture, as well as attending to some economic diplomatic engagements.

“It’s an important conference, it is an important visit and it’s very important that the Honourable Vice President (Dr Chiwenga) received an invitation from the President of the Swiss Confederation to attend this particular conference on patient safety,” Ambassador Comberbach told journalists.

“This is a conference which will bring together, we are told 81 delegations have registered, to participate in the conference, including many from Africa.

“It comes at a very important time for global healthcare issues because the Covid-19 pandemic really showed the extent to which the global health community is not adequately prepared for handling medical or health emergencies of the scale that we saw with Covid-19.

“So, patient safety is very much a part of the response also to Covid-19. It’s an issue which has been flagged a long time ago by the World Health Organisation, by the United Nations in general.”

Ambassador Comberbach said Zimbabwe made considerable progress in its healthcare provisions, making it an example for peers.

“I think we have a relatively good story to tell about the progress that has been made at home in terms of improving healthcare,” he said.

“Of course, Covid-19 really hit us hard like it hit everybody, but in terms of national development strategy, the national health strategy, I think all the boxes there are to be ticked.

“We have identified a way forward as a nation, it’s now really to generate adequate support and resources to ensure that those boxes can be ticked.”

Ambassador Comberbach confirmed that VP Chiwenga will have his itinerary full as he will have to attend economic cooperation meetings, as well as meeting potential investors who are keen to have a closer look at Zimbabwe.

Swiss investors have been keen to build business ties with Zimbabwe, and since Switzerland is not a member of the European Union, they can usually make their decisions on pure economic factors.