Ensuring accelerated accessibility and affordability of treatment services for COVID-19 patients in Zimbabwe : an urgent call to action

Abstract

Timely access to quality healthcare services is a basic human right. Governments globally have a responsibility to ensure wider coverage and access, particularly to essential and lifesaving healthcare services. For these reasons, there has been a strong call for universal health coverage. Private medical insurance promotes inequalities in accessing care, perpetuated by ever-widening socioeconomic gaps. In resource-constrained settings, the lower and more vulnerable social classes suffer more from disparities during crisis times such as the COVID-19 pandemic.