Marondera, Zimbabwe (dpa) - A 400-million-dollar health fund was
launched Monday in Zimbabwe to provide free health services for
pregnant women and children under 5 years, with assistance from
UNICEF, the European Union and other Western nations.
The head of UNICEF in Zimbabwe, Peter Salama, said hospital fees
were one of the biggest barriers to access to critical health care
for poor women and children.
The country's economic crisis has over the years severely weakened
the health care system. According to the UN, 100 children under 5
years and eight women die everyday in Zimbabwe as they cannot afford
to pay hospital fees.
Calling the fund a "real revolution," Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai said: "Zimbabwe is one of the three countries in
sub-Saharan Africa that has gone back by 22 per cent in under-five
mortality rates."
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