I WILL EXTRAPOLATE ALL THE EXPERIENCE I GATHERED IN THE HEALTH SECTOR TO OTHER SECTORS-CC
….says the experience he gathered there can help him address all the other sectors optimally.
Lusaka—-Tuesday, February 22nd 2023
SMART EAGLES
Patriotic Front PF Presidential Candidate Hon. Dr Chitalu Chilufya says he wants to extrapolate the experience he gathered in the health sector into other sectors in Zambia.
The former Health Minister has highlighted the legacy goals score card by the PF government under President Edgar Lungu with him at the helm of the Ministry of Health.
He explained that he put together a team upon his appointment as Minster in 2016 focusing on determining where the Ministry of Health was at that time while projecting where it ought to be.
Dr. Chilufya was speaking when he featured on 5FM yesterday.
“Me vying for the position of the PF presidency would mean that the experience I gathered in the Ministry of Health in transforming the health sector, so many deliberations on the wall, I would extrapolate all this experience, we can do it for other sectors,” he said.
“We did it in health, we can’t fail to do it in mining, in agriculture, tourism, and other sectors. So I just wanted to emphasize that I am in a position to take the PF presidency because of the privilege I had under the Presidency of president Lungu, Presidency of Michael Chilufya Sata, MHSRIP to ride a transformation agenda and the experience I gathered there can help me address all the other sectors optimally. We can extrapolate all the experience and success in the health sector to the other sectors.” He added.
He also revealed that the late President Michael Chilufya, who he labeled as the best Health Minister Zambia has ever had, set a benchmark for all Health Ministers to follow.
“I hold President Micheal Chilufya Sata in high esteem. And I recognize him as probably the best health minister Zambia has had. So a lot of changes at a time that he was in the health sector and he set a benchmark for all of us who were in that position to follow,” he said.
“In 2016 when I was appointed Minister of health by president Lungu, I ensured that I put together a team and we focused on determining where the Ministry of Health was at that particular time, redefining where we wanted the health sector to be, recreated a purpose led vehicle to push us from where we wanted to be.” He added.
Dr Chilufya explained that this is the reason PF crafted the 2017/2021 National Health Strategic Plan.
He said the plan was focused on universal health coverage as the broad goal adding that it identified the importance of reforming, reengineering health system.
“It identified key deliverables, key targets and there was a very strong M and E framework to look at progress along the way. And so among the 10 legacy goals that, there was epidemic control of HIV/AIDS, there was reduction of maternal motility, reduction of under-five motility, reducing malaria, TB and ensuring that aspects of mental health were addressed,” he said.
“And I am happy to report that the goals we set on service delivery in terms of disease outcomes, we posted significant progress…The other legacy goals we set on infrastructure, such as creating primary health care infrastructure, we hit those targets. We set up a goal to create 500 primary healthcare facilities. By the time we were leaving office we had already built 567 health posts and 99 mini hospitals.” He added.
Dr Chilufya said among the legacy goals PF had when he was Minister were to build six specialist hospitals among others.
“We set up a goal to build six specialist hospitals. By the time we were leaving Maina Soko was complete, Levy was done, Lusaka Heart Hospital was done… and we met the target of the six specialized hospitals,” he said.
“We set up a goal that we would recruit 30,000 health workers. By the time we were leaving office, we had already recruited 25,000 plus health workers. And we even created the first ever medical university that has changed the landscape for human capital not only in Zambia but region.” He added.