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Albert Chavhunduka

On July 13 the Urology Department of Hunan Provincial People’s Hospital of China donated surgical materials to the urology department of Parirenyatwa Hospital, the largest public hospital in Zimbabwe.

The donated materials included urinary calculi basket, stone blocking catheter, percutaneous renal balloon dilatation catheter, zebra guide wire, hydrophilic cobalt alloy guide wire, urethral catheter, etc.

Dr Zeng Mingqiang, deputy chief physician of the Urology Department of Hunan Provincial People’s Hospital (a member of the 19th Chinese medical team to Aid Zimbabwe) said that since the friendly cooperation between the two sides, the minimally invasive urology surgery of Parirenyatwa Hospital in Zimbabwe had developed rapidly.

Dr Zeng added that since Hunan Provincial People’s Hospital and Parirenyatwa Hospital signed the partnership project, the communication between the two sides has become more frequent and the friendly relations have been deepened.

Bertha, a senior nurse in the Urology operation room of Parirenyatwa Hospital, received the surgical supplies on behalf of Parirenyatwa Urology Department. She expressed her deep gratitude to Hunan Provincial People’s Hospital for this timely action. Bertha pointed out that the donation will facilitate the development of minimally invasive urological surgery in The Hospital.

Dr Fu Daiyan, deputy chief physician of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine Department of Hunan Provincial People’s Hospital, introduced the construction of remote consultation centre and simulated endoscopy training centre assisted by Hunan Provincial People’s Hospital.

It is one of the 30 cooperation mechanisms between Chinese and African counterpart hospitals.

Benefiting communities

The 19th China Medical Team in Zimbabwe, has been offering free medical services, consultation and treatment free of charge and their activities have benefited a number of communities across the country.

Recently, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Health and Child Care Dr Jasper Chimedza officially launched the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Acupuncture Centre at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals.

The clinic was established in 2020 as part of efforts to offer Zimbabweans affordable alternative medical treatment which include the use of traditional Chinese medicines and acupuncture to compliment other conventional medicines especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since its introduction in the country, traditional Chinese medicines have played a key role in the treatment of a variety of diseases such as pain, respiratory diseases, neurological diseases among many others.

The China Medical Team is running a number of initiatives which are essentially complimenting government’s efforts and in line with the National Development Strategy one (NDS1) which seek to promote the provision of efficient, free and affordable health service delivery in the country.

The Medical Team participated at this year’s Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) in Bulawayo where they introduced and offered free medical services and acupuncture treatment to Bulawayo residents.

Head of the TCM centre Dr Zhu Wei recently announced that the China Medical Team was rolling out a talents training programme in Zimbabwe for the training of the first batch of traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture students in the country.

The programme, aims to equip the country’s health personnel with the knowledge and use of Chinese traditional medicines in the treatment of diseases in the health institutions across the country.

Traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture have been received with so much appraisal to the extent that the China Medical Team has planned to take the initiative to remote rural areas where they seek to introduce mobile clinics which will be offering free medical treatment and consultation services.

The newly refurbished and resourced TCM centre at Parirenyatwa hospital is dedicated to serve the local population as it targets to provide accessible and free medical services for more patients across the country.

Maternal health

In terms of Maternal Health and Child Care, the China Medical Team has also made a number of contributions to bolster these services in the country.

Early this year, the team donated materials and medical equipment worth thousands of dollars through the Zimbabwe-China Cooperation.

Through the cooperation between the two countries, the China Medical Team is currently running two priority projects in the country namely, China’s Maternal and Child Health Care Innovation Project as well as the talent training project mentioned earlier on.

The country’s survival rate of patients with gastrointestinal cancer has also been forecasted to decline, courtesy of the China Medical Team.

State-of-the-art equipment which were donated by the China Medical Team to Parirenyatwa hospital have improved owing to the early detection and early treatment of the deadly disease.

China has made so much contributions to the provision of cheap health care services in Zimbabwe and the memorandum of understanding signed between the two countries in the field of traditional medicine has been fruitful.

Last year, government launched the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Strategy in Zimbabwe (2021-2025) as part of efforts to double the production of essential drugs.

The two countries took it further by holding prospective discussions of setting up joint manufacturing of medical drugs and pharmaceuticals.

As a testament of the deepening relations between Zimbabwe and China, when fully fledged, the initiative will ensure that the country has enough drug stocks which will improve service delivery in the country.

Under the framework of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China has been increasing aid to developing countries which include Zimbabwe and launched its “happy home” projects among which is the 100 health care and rehabilitation projects.

China is also behind the funding of the recently completed US$25 million Sally Mugabe Hospital modern pharmaceutical warehouse which has improved recording, storage and stocktaking.

The warehouse has a capacity of holding 10 000 pallets of medicine compared to the National Pharmaceutical Company (NatPham) which only accommodated a mere nine pallets.

Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe Guo Shaochun said Zimbabwe is set to reap a lot of fruits from its cooperation with Zimbabwe and among these fruits is the pharmaceutical warehouse.

“In the new national pharmaceutical warehouse, medicines will be stored and managed in much better conditions and spacious rooms.

“The health of ordinary Zimbabweans will be better guaranteed,” he said.

This development, becomes one of a string of state-owned pharmaceutical warehouses which will be constructed in all the country’s 10 provinces in line with the devolution agenda.

Pivotal

In addition to the above health initiatives, China was also pivotal in helping Zimbabwe to overcome the deadly wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Asian country first sent a team of medical experts to help train local doctors on how to handle the pandemic.

On top of this, China pledged to make a donation of 10 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines this year which is guaranteed to draw Zimbabwe closer to achieving herd immunity.

Other medical and health programmes by China have benefited millions of women and children especially in the rural areas.

These have been given access to medical and health care services under a joint initiative between China and UNICEF which is sponsored by the Chinese government through its South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund (SSCAF).

This development initiative is a form of mutual cooperation and assistance between China and developing countries.

By the end of 2019, China had dispatched 27 484 medical workers in 1 069 groups to 72 countries and regions.

These groups of medical experts worked in all departments of medical and health care, including internal medicine, surgery, gynaecology, paediatrics, traditional Chinese medicine, anaesthesiology among many others.

Currently, there are nearly 1 000 Chinese medical workers providing assistance at 111 health care facilities in 55 countries across the globe.