By Patricia Mashiri
In a bid to provide accessible health services to Zimbabwean citizens, China has donated equipment for early screening and treatment of cervical cancer to the Ministry of Health and Child Care.
The equipment worth US$500 000 was donated to Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals and handed over to Dr David Parirenyatwa, Minister of Health and Child Care on 22nd of January 2018 by Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Huang Ping.
Speaking during the handover ceremony, Mr Ping said the equipment would help in promoting the control and treatment of cervical cancer and enhance the well-being of the Zimbabwean people at large.
“For the past decades, the Chinese government and its people have spared no effort in helping the Zimbabweans building their homeland, developing the economy, improving living standards of the Zimbabwean people, reducing poverty and fighting against natural disasters. Together the two peoples have achieved remarkable success, especially in agriculture, health and education sectors.
“In the past 20 years, the Chinese government has constructed one hospital in Chinhoyi, one hospital in Mahusekwa, donated 3 batches medical equipment to a worth of 14 million RMB, and dispatched a total of 140 doctors and experts to Zimbabwe, as part of China’s commitment to assisting its all-weather friend in advancing its health services and the people’s livelihood,”Ping said
The project that was launched today is a follow-up of another commitment made by the Chinese President Xi Jinping in the United Nations Summit to implement one-hundred projects of maternal and child health in the developing countries in the next five years, and the “China-Africa Public Health Cooperation Programme” announced in the Johannesburg Summit of China-Africa Cooperation Forum which was held in 2015.
Dr Parirenyatwa said he was grateful to receive the equipment and all other resources that the Chinese Embassy had channeled towards the national cervical cancer prevention programme.
“The developed world has managed to reduce the incidents of cervical cancer through the cytology based screening, a great break through and one of modern medicines’ greatest success stories. Of the 275 000 cervical cancer dates recorded annually, globally 85% occur in developing countries.
“The ongoing camp for free cervical cancer screening and treatment by Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals and Hunan Provincial Maternal and Child Care Hospital is also targeting to raise awareness and cervical cancer screening. I Hope this event will serve as a stepping stone and signify a milestone towards the improvement of the mechanisms already in place to fight cervical cancer until a point where it is rare occurrence and chances of anyone being diagnosed are closer to non in Zimbabwe,” he said.
The Cancer Registry of Zimbabwe states that cervical cancer remains the commonest cancer among women in the country accounting for 33% of cancers in women. It is estimated that every year 2 270 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and 1 451 will die from the disease.