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Mpilo Central Hospital

THE official opening of Mpilo Central Hospital’s state of the art cancer unit this week is a milestone achievement by the Ministry of Health and Child Care.

People from the southern region finally have all reasons to smile seven years after the unit was closed in 2009.

Government deserves applause for facilitating the installation of modern medical equipment at a time when the economy is suppressed with a constrained budget. The unit is divided into two departments — nuclear medicine and radiotherapy. For the first time Zimbabwe has a functional nuclear medical facility, a medical speciality in which minute quantities of radioactive substances are administered to a patient through injection, inhalation or swallowing in order to diagnose or treat diseases. There has been no such facility for a long time due to lack of equipment and trained staff and patients.

The development brings to an end years of affliction when thousands of desperate and poor cancer patients were forced to travel to Harare and outside the country seeking treatment.

Access to quality health service is a crucial component of sound governance and we say kudos to President Mugabe’s government for responding to the plight of its citizens by bringing in medical machinery that is similar to that used for cancer treatment in developed countries. Special tribute also goes to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which partnered the government of Zimbabwe in facilitating the new unit. We join Health and Child Care Minister Dr David Parirenyatwa in celebrating this worthwhile achievement.

“This is one of my happiest days first as an individual and as a minister because this cancer unit had been a burden for a long time,” said the minister whose sentiments capture the mood of the region, which covers Bulawayo, Masvingo, Midlands, Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South.

Now that the radiotherapy centre is operational we concur with Dr Parirenyatwa that the Mpilo Central Hospital management need to consider the poor when charging for services. The cost of a single cycle of chemotherapy ranges from $150 to $1 000 or more, which is beyond the reach of many.

Often patients suffer denial of health service because of exorbitant costs. Given the state of the economy many people cannot afford prohibitive charges and our health centres should be cognisant of this.

“I hereby ask the chief executive officer Mr Leonard Mabandi and his team to consider the poor when coming up with charges as cancer is the most expensive disease to treat,” said Dr Parirenyatwa.

We strongly support the minister in that optimum pricing is important in promoting a healthy nation. This is because cancer is one of the leading diseases that claim thousands of lives in the country and globally.

According to Dr Parirenyatwa, a cancer research study carried in 2014 revealed there were 7 000 new cases recorded countrywide and indications are that the number has shot up now.

This alone concretises the case for affordable pricing while we urge Government to avail more funding to support maintenance of  this new unit so that even the less privileged can get quality health care.

We commend efforts by the Ministry of Health to guarantee quality assurance with a specialist from the IAEA already doing quality control for the unit. It is our hope that the new facility will also attract qualified staff as it creates a conducive working environment.

We urge Government to also intervene in the remaining challenge of acquisition of radio pharmaceuticals, which can only be purchased through a procurement system, to ensure efficient service and reduced cost to patients. It is encouraging that the radiotherapy department is already working with 122 new cancer cases having been diagnosed in the first quarter of 2017. In view of the increasing cancer burden in the country, we also urge Zimbabweans to adhere to a healthy diet to minimise risk of cancer while Government, resources permitting, should spread radiotherapy services across the country.