Bernard Mutambudzi
Zimbabwe is hosting the 6th Technical Committee of Africa Ministerial Cooperative (TCAMCCO) which is running under theme ‘Promotion of Good Health and well-being in Africa through Cooperatives.’
The five day conference will end on the 1st of June, was organised by International Co-operative Alliance-Africa. The hosting of the event is under the auspices of the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development.
Various players which include Registrars of Cooperatives from all over Africa, some delegates from Africa Alliance, Regional Directors, representatives from Africa Union and Central Cooperatives among others are attending.
The Registrar of Cooperatives in Zimbabwe, Tabani Shoko said Zimbabwe stood to benefit immensely in its quest to have health Cooperatives.
"Ladies and gentlemen , let me hasten to point out that the main objective of this global conjunction is to sensitize the African Cooperative Movement and Government officials in charge of Cooperatives on the need to address the SDG 3 agenda through the promotion of health , well-being and health insurance cooperatives on the Continent," he said.
He said health was a fundamental human right and a key indicator of Sustainable development.
He said the conference was an eye opener for the untapped sector in Zimbabwe.
“This conference will also give a platform for cooperatives to form business interlinkages as ideas and success stories are shared.
“The conference will be beneficial to ZNCF as it will strengthen local efforts and link with cooperative movement worldwide. We expect local cooperatives to clinch into trade deals with other cooperatives in Africa through interactions and this can attract direct foreign investments," he said.
He said according to the International Co-operative Alliance Report of 2015, Zimbabwe was ranked highly in Africa but mostly in housing Cooperatives.
He said countries from the region visited the country to learn on our experiences but the country is found wanting in the Health promotion space.
"If we are successful in housing Cooperatives, why can't we have health Cooperatives," he asked.
He said most co-operatives have no medical cover despite the dangerous working conditions they were exposed to, especially those in unregistered small scale mining.
He said Medical Socities were taking the role Health Cooperative should do.
“Let me challenge cooperatives and those in the health sector, to take up this important task and fill in the gap," he said.
He said Cooperatives were very well suited business model to achieving SDG 3 because they were companies owned and run by and for their members, driven by values, not for profit, which were internationally agreed principles and act together to build a better world through co-operation.
