Chinamasa admits govt failure

FINANCE minister Patrick Chinamasa has admitted that government’s failure to adequately fund the health sector has forced elderly people and underage children admitted at public health institutions to buy their own medical supplies, including drugs.

Chinamasa, in his mid-term fiscal review statement last week, said under normal circumstances, elderly people and children under the age of five years were supposed to receive free treatment at public hospitals.

He said the Global Fund in 2016 disbursed $146,4 million in support of improved domestic health delivery through the United Nations Development Fund for health interventions.

This story is for NewsDay subscribers.