Zimbabwe NCD Champions Network

Open Letter to Hon Prof Mthuli Ncube

An Urgent Appeal to Prioritise Health in the 2026 National Budget:
👉🏻docs.google.com/document/d/18o…

@MthuliNcube01 @dr_douglas @ZimTreasury @MoHCCZim @ParliamentZim @Jamwanda2 @WHO_Zimbabwe @CWGH1 @healthtimeszim @citezw @llgonde @TMidlander

📉 Zimbabwe is spending just 10.1% on health.
But we committed to 15% under the Abuja Declaration.

It’s time to #FinanceHealth and fund our future.
A healthy Zimbabwe is a thriving Zimbabwe. 🇿🇼
#Abuja15 | #HealthFirst @dr_douglas @MoHCCZim @ZimTreasury @healthtimeszim

🇿🇼🙏 "Let history show this Parliament stood with the people. We choose action over delay, compassion over silence, leadership over excuses. Pass legislation to save lives. Let’s build a Zimbabwe where no one is left behind.

#ActNow #HealthFirst #ImpilakahleYethu #HutanoHwedu

We cannot reach Vision 2030 on a sick, struggling population.

NCDs & mental health crises are stealing lives, draining families, and weakening our economy

It’s time for bold laws, real investment, and leadership that saves lives—not just talks.
#HealthFirst #ActNow #HutanoHwedu

🌊 Turn the tide on NCDs and mental health. 🧠💪 Repeal the National AIDS Council Act and replace it with a #OneHealth National Health Council Act — bridging the care gap for HIV 🦠, NCDs ❤️, mental health 🧘🏽, and more. 🌍🤝 #HealthFirst 💙 #HutanoHwedu 🌿 #ImpilakahleYethu ✨

🌊 Turn the tide on NCDs and mental health. 🧠💪 Repeal the National AIDS Council Act and replace it with a #OneHealth National Health Council Act — bridging the care gap for HIV 🦠, NCDs ❤️, mental health 🧘🏽, and more. 🌍🤝 #HealthFirst 💙 #HutanoHwedu 🌿 #ImpilakahleYethu ✨

🩺 Families can't access care
🍽️ Children face unhealthy food ads
🤝 People suffer in silence

We need bold laws, real funding & inclusive leadership—now.
#NothingForUsWithoutUs #HealthFirst #ActOnNCDs #ImpilakahleYethu

🚨 What We’re Calling For: Leadership, Legislation & Reform 🇿🇼

✅ Regulate risk factors
✅ Guarantee equitable care
✅ Promote prevention
✅ End stigma
✅ Establish a national NCD & mental health council

It’s time to act. Parliament must lead.
#HealthFirst #ActOnNCDs #HutanoHwedu

The cost of NCDs is huge to families, the economy, and Zimbabwe’s future. 💔🇿🇼

Families choose between food & medicine. Children lose parents. Poverty deepens. The workforce shrinks.

Every untreated NCD is a preventable loss. Every delay costs us all.

#HealthFirst #ActOnNCDs

8/8 Health is a human right — not a privilege. ❤️⚖️

It’s time to build a system that works for everyone, everywhere. No one should be left behind.

Together, we can create a healthier, fairer Zimbabwe. 🇿🇼✨

#HealthFirst #ActOnNCDs #MentalHealth
#ImpilakahleYethu
#HutanoHwedu

6/8
How many more Tendais must suffer before we act?

We need:

✅ Prevention & early detection
✅ Affordable treatment
✅ Mental health support
✅ Health equity for ALL

Because every delay costs a life. 💔
#HutanoHwedu
#ImpioakahleYefhu
#HealthFirst #Lead[,NCDs

Today, Tendai’s family survives on borrowed money and fading hope. 💔💸

❌ No medical insurance
❌ No rehab services
❌ No support

His story echoes across Zimbabwe — in Mutoko, Mbare, Tsholotsho, Chitungwiza, and beyond. Families struggle alone. #ActOnNCDs

4/8 Behind every statistic is a real human story. 💔

📍 Meet Tendai a 42-year-old teacher from Gutu. A loving father. A dedicated breadwinner.

After years of unmanaged diabetes, Tendai suffere as stroke. 😔 as treatment lacked
due to high costs. Quality care was out of reach.

3/8 They are no longer "diseases of affluence." ❌💰
They strike everyone everywhere.

📍 The young and elderly
📍 Rich and the poor
📍 Rural and big cities alike

NCDs and mental health conditions do not discriminate.
But our health system does by failing to be ready. 💔⚖️

#NCDs — like &
Mental health struggles aren’t distant problems, they’re devastating millions of Zimbabweans every single day.

Families are suffering. Health systems are straining. Lives are being lost quietly.

👉 This is not just a health issue buta national emergency.

1/8. The Hidden Crisis: NCDs & Mental Health in Zimbabwe 🇿🇼

Non-communicable diseases (#NCDs) and mental health conditions are no longer "silent killers" — they are a loud, urgent, and growing epidemic. 🚨

This thread reveals the truth behind the numbers. 👇

#HealthFirst

🚫 We are not asking for charity.

🗣️ We are calling for bold leadership, ✅ decisive action, and 🧾 policy reform —
to 🛡️ protect health, ✊ uphold dignity, and 🔐 secure the future of every Zimbabwean. 🇿🇼

#HealthFirst #ActOnNCDs #NothingForUsWithoutUs l #Vision2030

🗣️ Our struggles are too often invisible. Our pain, buried in silence. But our needs are urgent—and we refuse to be ignored any longer.

We are here to raise our voices, demand justice, and call this nation to action.
#HealthFirst|#ActOnNCDs

🚫 We are not asking for charity.

🗣️ We are calling for bold leadership, ✅ decisive action, and 🧾 policy reform —
to 🛡️ protect health, ✊ uphold dignity, and 🔐 secure the future of every Zimbabwean. 🇿🇼

#HealthFirst #ActOnNCDs #NothingForUsWithoutUs #Vision2030

We are not case studies.
We are not stories to be told for us.

👥 We are survivors.
🗣️ We are caregivers.
⚡ We are leaders.

We’ve lived the pain.
Now we shape the solutions.

#NothingForUsWithoutUs
#LivedExperienceIsPower
#ImpilakahleYethu

📢 This campaign is a call to action:

✅ End tokenism — no more symbolic seats
✅ Center lived experience — real voices, real power
✅ Demand participation — from clinics to parliaments

This is more than advocacy.
🔥 This is justice.

#HealthFirst #ActOnNCDs

📢 This campaign is a call to action:

✅ End tokenism — no more symbolic seats
✅ Center lived experience — real voices, real power
✅ Demand participation — from clinics to parliaments

This is more than advocacy.
🔥 This is justice.

#HealthFirst #ActOnNCDs
#OurHealthOurVoices

🧠 People living with NCDs, mental health & neurological conditions are sidelined from shaping their care.

We’ve been invisible long enough.
⏳ We are done waiting.
✊🏾 We rise.

#NothingForUsWithoutUs
#NCDVoices

🟢 CAMPAIGN LAUNCH: #HealthFirst

🗣️ “There’s no amount of technical expertise that can replace lived experience.”

Health systems are broken when they silence the very people they claim to serve.
Today, we rise to change that.

This is our moment.
This is our movement.
👇🧵

#HealthFirst #ActOnNCDs

🏢 Four ways companies can lead the way for #HealthFirst:
✅ Build sustainable partnerships that prioritize health
✅ Develop innovative solutions to tackle health challenges
✅ Increase investment in health initiatives
✅ Support industries that promote well-being

The human toll of #NCDs is unacceptable, inequitable, and increasing. Govt must INVEST to protect people, health systems, and economies! Let’s take action together at #HealthFirst 💪🌍
#ImplacableYethu
#HutanoHwedu
@MoHCCZim
@dr_douglas @ZimTreasury @CWGH1 @llgonde

📢 Health Alert!🚨

90% of Zimbabweans are uninsured, putting lives at risk from catastrophic health costs. 💸💔

It's time to put #HealthFirst! 💊
Prioritize:
✦ Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs)
✦ Mental Health in Zimbabwe

Let's work together for #HealthForAll🌟
#NCDs #ImpilakahleYethu #HutanoHwedu

"#HealthFirst Movement!

Building a stronger healthcare system in Zimbabwe! 💪 Let's adopt an integrated approach with services across the continuum of care & fund national UHC health benefits packages with WHO 'best buys' & recommended interventions! 🌟 #impilakahleYethu
#HutanoHwedu

Let's prioritize #HealthFirst in Zimbabwe! Everyone deserves affordable, high-quality healthcare from prevention to treatment & palliative care. Time for change! #HealthForAll #Zimbabwe #ImpilakahleYethu #HutanoHwedu #UniversalHealthCoverage #HealthcareForZimbabwe #HealthEquity