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Thandeka Moyo, Health Reporter
MPILO Central Hospital’s cancer unit was officially opened yesterday, bringing relief to thousands of people from the country’s southern region who had to travel to Harare and neighbouring countries to seek treatment.

The facility, which had been closed since 2009, has state-of-the-art machines similar to those used for cancer treatment in developed countries.

Speaking before officially opening the radiotherapy centre, Health and Child Care Minister Dr David Parirenyatwa urged the Mpilo Central Hospital management to consider the poor when charging for services.

“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. 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 last carried out a thorough cancer research in 2014 when 7 000 new cases were recorded countrywide and I am sure the number has shot up now. I hereby hope Government will avail funds for us to maintain this unit so that even the less privileged can get quality health care.”

A specialist from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is doing quality control for the unit which is divided into two departments — nuclear medicine and radiotherapy.

Nuclear medicine is 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.

Dr Xolani Ndlovu who heads the nuclear medicine department said he was happy that for the first time in Zimbabwe there was a functional nuclear medical facility.

“Today through the support from the Government of Zimbabwe in partnership with IAEA, Mpilo is proud to have the only functional nuclear medical facility in the country. There has been no facility for a long time due to lack of equipment and trained staff and patients all along had been flocking to South Africa,” said Dr Ndlovu.

He said the main challenge was the acquisition of radio pharmaceuticals which can only be purchased in South Africa.

“We hope that as time goes on the procurement system will be more efficient in order to reduce patient waiting time,” he said.

Dr Tatenda Chingonzoh who heads the radiotherapy department said for the first quarter of 2017, the unit had diagnosed 122 new cases.

“The burden of cancer is increasing in Zimbabwe and so far we have carried out 228 chemotherapy administrations at our centre. The administration of chemotherapy may be done here but acquisition of drugs is done by patients at private pharmacies which has resulted in many failing to access treatment due to financial constraints,” said Dr Chingonzoh.

“The cost of a single cycle of chemotherapy can range from $150 to $1 000 or more. It is thus critical that resources be availed to enable chemotherapy drugs to be stocked in our hospital pharmacy to help subsidise the cost to patients.”

Dr Ndlovu and Dr Chingonzoh are the only specialists who have been trained to operate the unit. Experts say at least two people need to operate one machine at any given time for maximum results.

Corruption delayed the opening of the cancer unit by about four years.

Chronicle lifted the lid off the corruption in February 2015, when a $3 million tender, which had been awarded to Bulawayo businessman Mr Ashton Mpofu’s New Planet Company, was cancelled after he allegedly refused to bribe former CEO Dr Lawrence Mantiziba and fired operations director Mrs Regina Duduza Moyo.

The tender — according to an audit report — had been illegally and unnecessarily split into smaller tenders.

The auditors said if the contract had been given to one company, it would have cost approximately $1,049 million.

After being split up, it ended up costing about $3 million.

Mr Mpofu was awarded the tender to refurbish the hospital’s radiotherapy centre towards the end of 2012.

The cancer unit was closed for the duration of the project, forcing patients in the southern region to travel to Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare for treatment.

The southern region covers Bulawayo, Masvingo, Midlands, Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South.

— @thamamoe