IT is crucial for civil society organisations dealing with health issues be socially accountable even unto themselves and Government to ensure Zimbabwe is on track of Universal Health Coverage, a Zimbabwe Aids Network official said.
By Kudakwashe Pembere Recently In Kadoma
At a time when CSOs are always on the state’s case regarding its progress to ensure Zimbabwe achieves UHC, ZAN National Coordinator Mr Taurai Nyandoro said social accountability was similarly important within the CSO circuits.
“In terms of Social accountability it’s really an approach to exert accountability from both state and non-state actors because we need to be accountable. So the state is going to make commitments to agree on a minimum package.
“The state is going to agree on approaches. But here and there we need to do a stock taking and say in as far as fulfilling those commitments where are we. One of our roles is to complement the Ministry of Health but remember we are not only advocates. We are also engaged in service delivery,” he said. “So we also need to account to our communities in as far as our contributions are concerned in respect to universal health coverage.”
He also said as CSOs their social accountability mechanism should speak to an exerting accountability from both state and non-state actors.
“So you see within civil society that some our colleagues are providing services, delivering services, community interventions have been done. But there is no platform, there is no forum where we account to each other.
“So it has become important that we be accountable to ourselves and each other. So this is why accountability becomes important to us.
“Not for us to be asking the state only to account because as watchdogs and advocacy that is our role,” added Mr Nyandoro.
AIDS and TB director in the Health and Child Care Ministry Dr Owen Mgurungi said cooperation, accountability were important.
“The second thing is that when we join hands together, we need to be accountable. We should make one another accountable for the actions because we can’t say some are able when some are sleeping.
“And I am very happy that in the sector I work, CSOs try to make sure that government is accountable,” he said.
