Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has reportedly said that foreign trips for specialised medical attention are bleeding the country of the much-needed foreign currency.

Writing in a weekly column published on the The Sunday Mail website, Mnangagwa said that the southern African nation needed to develop its own capacity.

“Many Zimbabweans are turning to foreign countries for specialised healthcare. This is very expensive for our nation,” the president said.

Mnangagwa himself and other leading government officials have sought medical treatment outside the country.

Mnangagwa said the country was spending double the amount it would need to resuscitate its collapsed health system.

Zimbabwe’s health sector collapsed under the weight of an economic ruin, lack of funding and neglect under former president Robert Mugabe’s rule.