Link: https://allafrica.com/stories/202103260310.html
Zimbabwe’s government has received $160 million in the past seven years for health support and the establishment of new hospitals from the EU which is administered through the multi-donor health development fund. It is reported that the EU has been supporting Zimbabwe’s health programs since 2006. Finance and health development minister Mthuli Ncube reports that the Zimbabwe government is planning to build 24 new district hospitals and has already engaged the European Union for health infrastructure support as well as a health insurance scheme. Finance and Economic Development minister professor Mthuli Ncube claims that the EU financing for healthcare development has been making an impact in communities, but the impact may no be able to be fully measured if there is no co-management of resources.
This cooperation between the EU and Zimbabwe is exactly what Sub-Saharan African countries need to escape the economic deficits that most of them are in, along with improving the welfare of their citizens. Hopefully this becomes a positive for the the region and encourages other countries to interact with global superpowers and political unions with as much influence as the EU. This article is important because it shows the effort African nations are putting in to improve the lifestyle of their citizens, along with showing that the EU and other powers are willing to help underdeveloped countries that are in need of assistance.
As a shatterbelt region, Sub-Saharan Africa is very prone to violence and poverty; and the amount of corruption within their governments is mostly to blame for this. Although this cooperation between the EU and Zimbabwe wouldn’t be considered completely a universal approach, a step towards this theory could improve the economic, political, and governmental health of Sub-Saharan nations, along with bringing necessary social change. Ever since the US became active in the Middle East after 9/11, Sub-Saharan Africa erupted into a conflict zone and never really recovered, they now suffer the consequences of a war they weren’t active in, and the only way to improve their economy is through assistance of higher powers, like the EU.