First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa yesterday officially opened an
early cervical cancer detection and treatment centre at Parirenyatwa Group of
Hospitals in Harare where women will be screened for free in a move aimed at
fighting the silent killer.
The Chinese government, through Hunan Provincial Maternal
and Child Health Care Hospital, partnered with the Ministry of Health and Child
Care and donated the equipment to be used.
The First Lady, who was on Monday appointed Health and
Child Care Ambassador, has been leading in the fight against cancer urging
women to get tested for cervical and breast cancer.
She led by example when she got screened for cervical and
breast cancer at United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH), as a way of motivating women
to do the same.
Her awareness campaigns saw over 100 000 women undergoing
cervical cancer screening last year.
Officiating the event yesterday, the First Lady urged women
to take advantage of the newly opened clinical camp and get screened early.
“I salute the collaborative efforts by the two sister
hospitals — Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals and Hunan Provincial Maternal and
Child Health Care Hospital — in alleviating the scourge of cervical cancer
which, according to statistics from the Zimbabwe Cancer Registry, is the most
common cancer among women,” she said.
“Today is a significant day for me as I witness two great
hospitals from different parts of the world walking the talk in addressing this
global health challenge.
“As such, I would like to commend the kind gesture made by
China through Hunan Provincial Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital to
continue partnering Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals in this noble cause.
“I have also noted that Harare tops the provinces in terms
of the number of women with confirmed cervical cancer. It is therefore
befitting that this screening and treating camp is done here at an institution
in Harare,” she said.
The First Lady thanked the Chinese government for donating
the equipment.
“I would like to appreciate the equipment that you donated
to this organisation and other resources that you have channelled towards this
programme.
“The developed world has managed to reduce the incidents of
cervical cancer through the use of cytology-based screening, a great
breakthrough and one of modern medicines.
“Of the 275 000 cervical cancer deaths recorded globally
annually, 85 percent occur in developing countries. Our efforts in the Third
World to replicate similar results have not taken us anywhere near our wishes
due to a number of reasons among them lack of resources.”
Health and Child Care Minister Dr Obadiah Moyo said he was
happy that cervical cancer, which is a dreaded non-communicable disease among
women, was receiving much attention in the country.
“I want to assure you that my ministry will continue to
fight this scourge and we shall not relent in this fight,” he said.
“This is the third time in three consecutive years that
such a clinical camp has been held at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals and we
hope that this phase will see over 3 000 women being screened and some
receiving the necessary treatment.
“I am happy that the First Lady continues to distinguish
herself in the area of health and child care. We are proud of her good work.”
Speaking at the same event, Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe
Mr Guo Shaochun said: “In response to the call for assisting in health delivery
in developing countries including Zimbabwe, President Xi Jinping announced at
the 2015 UN Sustainable Development Summit that China will implement 100
maternal and child health projects in developing countries, especially in
Africa.
“This commitment is echoed by the presence of the First
Lady Amai Auxillia Mnangagwa today whose devotion in women and children’s
welfare has strengthened our faith in contributing towards Zimbabwe’s public
health undertaking, Herald
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