Zimbabwe's economy is in ruins. Disease runs rampant. The public health system has collapsed. Private health care is all that remains, and in a country where many workers make less than $1 per month, a simple medical consultation starts at $200–that's more than 15 years of income for most! In our new video, PHR examines how Zimbabwe's economic crisis has shattered a once-strong health system.
The Zimbabwean dollar has become so worthless, most goods and services can only be bought with US dollars. Yet, many workers are still being paid in Zimbabwean currency. For them, a month's earnings can't even buy a loaf of bread! At the same time, private health care is the only viable health care option left in the country, since all public hospitals are closed and mission hospitals are overcrowded and underfunded. Private care, however, costs an astronomical amount by Zimbabwean standards, making it available only to the wealthy and privileged few.American or Zimbabwean, these days, everyone understands the issue of unaffordable health care in a depressed economy. But the situation in Zimbabwe represents the most extreme, worst-case scenario.In a country riddled with epidemic diseases, the last thing residents need is unaffordable health care. Health is a universal right—it has no price tag.(Watch this video in HD)