Senator calls for assisted reproductive health technology
Paul Chimedza 2

Dr Paul Chimedza

Nduduzo Tshuma Senior Reporter
MDC-T Senator Sithembile Mlotshwa says the government should consider adopting assisted reproductive health technology for people who have difficulties in conceiving.Debating in Parliament on Thursday last week, Mlotshwa said while government prioritises life threatening conditions such as HIV/Aids, maternal and infant mortality, procedures like assisted reproductive health were still necessary for barren women.

Assisted reproductive technologies or techniques are procedures used for achieving pregnancy by artificial or partially artificial means.

The process, called assisted reproductive technology (ART), is used in infertility treatment when people find it difficult to conceive.

Mlotshwa asked Deputy Health and Childcare Minister Dr Paul Chimedza why the ministry was not introducing assisted reproductive health technology given technological advances in the medical field.

“What is the alternative for people in Zimbabwe that every time you deal with reproductive health, you never consider them as citizens that need assistance?” Mlotshwa said.

In response, Dr Chimedza cited financial constraints, saying the government was focusing more on prioritising life threatening conditions.

He also said there were cultural issues to consider and that there was lack of specialised service in the country in that field.

This prompted Mlotshwa to ask if a case study had been done to see how many people might need the artificial process.

“When you talk from the point of tsika nemagariro (culture), you are talking from your personal point? What about other people if they know that they can be content with whatever problems or maybe they can fork out that money to pay because they need the service? Have you ever done a case study?” she asked.

Mlotshwa said it was critical for the ministry to give people of Zimbabwe an alternative and engage partners for financing.

Dr Chimedza said assisted reproductive technologies have high costs adding that costs for procedures were beyond the reach of many.

“They range from $1,200 to $19,000 per cycle. You can take an egg and sperm, fertilise it, put it in a womb and the pregnancy fails to hold,” said Dr Chimedza.

“So, you will have to do another cycle and do another until it works. So, if it costs you $19, 000 per cycle, if you do it three times, you are talking of around $60,000.”

He said even the government would not afford paying for ordinary Zimbabweans to get such a service.

“So scarcity of resources has resulted in the government focusing more on prioritising life threatening conditions . . . although some of these services for those that want, and that have the wherewithal to pay for are available in the private sector and they can be assisted,” said Dr Chimedza.

He said while the country had the best medical professionals, it lacked proper and standardised infertility diagnosis, treatment facilities, specialised knowledge and skill.

“So, this is also an area that we will need to equip them properly with the correct tools of trade. Like I said, the hindrance will be on the cost of the process,” said the deputy minister.

Dr Chimedza said there were different types of assisted reproductive technologies such as intra-uterine insemination where semen is collected after emission during procedures other than intercourse or masturbation. “The semen is directly transferred into the uterus with the help of a syringe or catheter and this treatment can be done during a natural cycle but in order to improve pregnancy rate, it is important that fertility enhancing drugs are also used,” he said.

“There is in-vitro fertilisation where the egg of a woman and the sperm of a man are put in a tube and fertilised and then they are transferred to the woman’s womb and pregnancy takes place.”

Dr Chimedza also spoke of surrogacy, process in which an egg and a sperm is placed inside the womb of another woman.

“Say one wants to be a mother and they cannot produce their own egg, they can have another mother. You take an egg from another mother and sperm from the husband and fertilise them. So that is surrogate pregnancy,” he sawid.

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