By Fanuel Chinowaita
CHIPINGE, Musikavanhu— A rural community in Zimbabwe’s Chipinge district is gaining access to medical expertise through technology after telecommunications giant NetOne launched a telemedicine service in Musikavanhu, in a move officials say could help bridge the country’s rural healthcare divide.
Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Angeline Gata hailed the initiative as a practical demonstration of how digital connectivity can be turned into a tool for delivering essential services to communities that often face long journeys and financial barriers to healthcare.
The launch came as NetOne marked 30 years of connecting Zimbabwe, with the company seeking to redefine the role of telecommunications beyond voice calls and internet access.
Residents attending the NetOne at 30 Medical Outreach and Telemedicine Launch received free medical screenings, consultations and medicines before the community was connected to the telemedicine platform.
For residents of Musikavanhu, the service could mean access to medical expertise without the costly and often difficult journeys to major health centres.
Ernest Magadzire, NetOne’s Public Relations Manager, said the company was increasingly measuring the value of its network by the impact it has on people’s lives.
“At NetOne, we have connected Zimbabweans for 30 years. But as we celebrate NetOne at 30, we are asking ourselves a bigger question: What should that connectivity achieve?” Magadzire said.
“If it allows a patient in Musikavanhu to access medical expertise without travelling long distances, that is impact.”
Magadzire said NetOne wanted to place technology at the centre of Zimbabwe’s development by ensuring that its infrastructure produced tangible social and economic benefits.
“We want to be the vanguard of Zimbabwe’s digital economy, ensuring that technology translates into real improvements in people’s lives,” he said.
“Our mandate is not simply to build networks. Our mandate is to use those networks to enable national development.”
The telemedicine service will be supported by community health ambassadors who will conduct basic health checks, identify possible health concerns and direct patients to appropriate care.
Where necessary, patients can be referred for further treatment or connected to healthcare professionals through virtual consultations.
The programme, implemented with support from ZimSmart Villages, brings together telecommunications, healthcare and community development in an attempt to tackle one of rural Zimbabwe’s persistent problems: access to specialist medical services.
The initiative also aligns with First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa’s advocacy for virtual healthcare and the government’s broader Vision 2030 agenda, which seeks to use technology to drive inclusive development.
But the Musikavanhu launch represents more than a new telecommunications service.
It signals an emerging shift in how digital infrastructure can be deployed in rural Zimbabwe — turning mobile connectivity into a pathway to healthcare and other essential services.
For NetOne, the challenge now is to ensure that the technology reaches more communities and that connectivity translates into sustained access to quality healthcare.
For Musikavanhu residents, however, that digital bridge has already begun to take shape.