The 4th Joint Coordinating Committee (JCC) Meeting was held to confirm the project achievements and the future roadmap for quality improvement

On March 19, 2026, the 4th Joint Coordinating Committee (JCC) meeting was held at the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) in Zimbabwe. A total of 38 participants attended the meeting, including representatives from MoHCC, target hospitals, Provincial Health Executives (PHEs), the Embassy of Japan in Zimbabwe, and the JICA Zimbabwe Office. As this was the final JCC meeting for the project, the achievements to date and remaining challenges were reported, followed by an active exchange of views among the participants. Furthermore, regarding the continuous Quality Improvement (QI) activities of health services after the project's completion, the Quality Assurance and Patient Safety (QAPS) Directorate of MoHCC, the counterpart of this project, presented a proposed roadmap outlining the way forward and concrete steps, which sparked lively discussions.

First, the project team reported that all planned activities had been completed, and the project's key indicators had been achieved. In particular, the major accomplishment were shared as follows:

On the other hand, future challenges were also presented, such as disparities in the level of activity implementation among target hospitals, gaps in the supervisory capacity of PHEs, and financial and human resource constraints at healthcare facilities. Participants discussed how to overcome these issues.

Participants exchanged views on the presented challenges from various perspectives. For instance, they pointed out the importance of "appointing dedicated, full-time QI focal persons" to implement QI activities with a more sufficient structure, as well as the necessity of scaling up good practices implemented by hospitals and PHEs, and facilitating mutual learning among facilities. Regarding financial constraints, it was emphasized that rather than relying solely on external support, it is crucial to secure internal funding through operational improvements to eliminate missed billing for patient consultations and through measures to ensure appropriate revenue generation in each department, such as laboratories and pharmacies.

As a key agenda item of the meeting, the QAPS Directorate presented the "Draft Roadmap for Sustainable and Strategic Interventions on Quality and Patient Safety," outlining the activity policy from 2026 to 2030. This roadmap consists of five pillars, including strengthening governance and system, human resource development, monitoring and technical support for healthcare facilities, shared-learning culture among healthcare facilities, and recognition and appreciation mechanisms.

During the discussion, the feasibility of the plan for PHEs to roll out 5S-KAIZEN-TQM training to at least two district hospitals within their jurisdiction in every year, was confirmed. Furthermore, to embed the QI mindset among healthcare providers, opinions were raised on the need to incorporate it into the educational curricula of health workforce training programs, such as medical schools, and to conduct introductory training for newly appointed healthcare providers.

Towards the end of the meeting, the Director of the QAPS Directorate emphasized that MoHCC will continue to take the lead in conducting external Monitoring and Supervision (M&S) even after the project ends. He also stressed the attitude that the target facilities should take the initiative, demonstrate leadership, and work on improving the quality of health services and patient waiting times.

Finally, the Resident Representative of the JICA Zimbabwe Office expressed continued support for strengthening Zimbabwe's health system, and the meeting was officially closed.