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Thandeka Moyo, Health Reporter
ZIMBABWE needs medical specialists to help alleviate increasing cases of non-communicable diseases like cancer, hypertension and diabetes which are slowly becoming top killers.

Most specialists are out of reach for a majority of Zimbabweans who live in rural areas.

Mpilo Central Hospital has only 22 specialists out of 57 that are needed for the smooth operation of the institution.

Specialists are doctors with an extra expertise in given areas and they include oncologists, radiographers, gynaecologists, cardiologists and surgeons.

The Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Child Care, Dr Gibson Mhlanga, said Government was working to ensure that every province has adequate specialists.

“We have been investing a lot into the system and we sponsored a lot of doctors to further their studies in partnership with the University of Zimbabwe. At the moment we are working extra hard to attract them to our designated provincial hospitals,” said Dr Mhlanga.

He said the majority of central hospitals have less that 50 percent of the required specialists at the moment.

Dr Mhlanga said the Ministry is worried about the upsurge of diabetes and hypertension cases in the country.

“Looking at our statistics over the past few years, we have realised that we have a rising trend of non-communicable diseases and a lot of our people are now dying from conditions like diabetes, hypertension and cancer,” he said.

Dr Mhlanga said stress, which can emanate from economic challenges, a working environment, society or an abusive partner can trigger most of the killer non-communicable diseases.

“As a ministry and practitioners we have been focusing on communicable diseases like HIV, malaria, cholera and we neglected other diseases. Previously our non-communicable unit has been weak, poorly funded and currently we are working towards ensuring it has requisite staff, people who have the expertise and funding,” he said.

Dr Mhlanga said the Ministry was already in talks with different partners to facilitate funding that will lower the prevalence of NCDs in Zimbabwe.

He said programmes that that include health education campaigns, mass mobilisation and procurement of medicines for non-communicable diseases are being implemented countrywide. — @thamamoe.