Zimbabwe’s public hospitals, once symbols of national pride, are now grim theatres of suffering and neglect.
At Harare’s Parirenyatwa General Hospital, teenage mother Evelyn Soko cradled her ailing child on a cold hallway floor.
Nurses in crisp uniforms passed without a glance, indifferent to the child’s ragged coughing and Soko’s silent pleas for help.
“I only need treatment for my child,” Soko whispered, unsure if help would ever come.
Across Zimbabwe, hospitals reveal scenes of desperation — broken infrastructure, absent medicines, and patients languishing without basic care.
Rachel Chauruka, visiting her niece at Parirenyatwa, lamented the decaying conditions and meagre meals served to patients.
“Nothing is working here — no medicine, no functioning toilets. We’re left helpless,” she told Anadolu.
Decades of economic collapse, chronic underfunding, and rampant corruption have gutted Zimbabwe’s healthcare system.
Essential supplies have become luxuries. Patients must purchase their own gloves, syringes, and painkillers — if they can find them.
Power outages leave hospital mortuaries reeking, while wards grapple with overflowing sanitation and absent running water.
Cancer patient Elton Mhembere described makeshift solutions. “We use buckets to bathe and flush toilets. The situation is unbearable,” he said.
A severe brain drain has worsened the crisis. Thousands of doctors and nurses have emigrated, seeking better opportunities abroad.
Corruption scandals, like the $60 million COVID-19 embezzlement case against a former health minister, have deepened public distrust.
Despite government promises of reform, conditions continue to deteriorate.
During a recent hospital visit, President Emmerson Mnangagwa pledged improvements. Yet medical staff remain sceptical.
A senior doctor at Parirenyatwa said bluntly, “Funds are being stolen. Otherwise, where is the money going?”
For patients like Soko, hope fades with each passing day.
“I don’t know if my child will ever get help,” she murmured. “All I can do is wait.”