The ManicaPost
Tendai Gukutikwa
Post Reporter
THE Government of Japan recently availed US$633 000 towards the country’s health sector to strengthen Surgical, Obstetric and Anaesthesia (SOA) care services, while building capacity of specialist health workers in Zimbabwe.
This saw a surgical hernia camp being set up at Victoria Chitepo Provincial Hospital over the past week.
Implemented by the Ministry of Health and Child Care, and its partners, World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF and Celebration Health, the surgical camp saw patients aged between two and 12 who were diagnosed with hernia being screened and surgically operated on.
In an interview on Tuesday, Victoria Chitepo Provincial Hospital Medical Superintendant, Dr Dorcas Masanga-Mutede, said the camp which was scheduled for Manicaland patients only, gained momentum when word spread and the hospital ended up receiving patients from as far as Victoria Falls and Beitbridge.
She said at least 500 patients were turned away as the available resources could only attend to a little more than 100 patients.
Dr Mutede-Masanga said as a provincial referral hospital, they were elated that they ended up saving patients from across the country, thanks to the camp.
“I would like to thank the partners and specialist doctors for ensuring that this camp was set up. Their contribution has made a great difference in the children’s lives and we hope that this continues across all medical disciplines,” she said.
Dr Mutede-Masanga said the hospital is grappling with the issue of theatre time as specialist doctors will be attending to emergencies most of the time, such that elective cases like hernia will not get due attention.
“We are very happy with the camp. This is following a growing need which was identified in the community. Usually cases end up being booked years after being diagnosed because of the challenge of theatre time. We are very grateful because we managed to assist many patients from across the country and we are hoping that this will become a norm,” she said.
Dr Ruvimbo Saunyama, who is part of the surgical team, said they received overwhelming response from patients who continued flocking to the hospital despite the completion of the screening process on Monday.
She said the major limiting factor is time and all outstanding patients were recorded in the country’s hernia operations waiting list.
“The plan is for further camps for Mutare or Harare, but that will benefit patients from across the country if funds permit because we have discovered that there is a great need for hernia surgeries. We are making good progress,” said Dr Saunyama.
Ms Rosaria Maida of Marondera whose son, Edron Chikanga (eight) had an umbilical hernia for the past six years, said: “He would vomit after eating and his navel would swell at any given moment. This was disturbing his education and I would like to thank Government and funders for making my son’s operations possible. My son can now lead a normal life,” she said.
Japan’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Ambassador Satoshi Tanaka, said: “Japan will support Zimbabwe’s efforts to attain Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by strengthening access to safe, timely and affordable SOA care, for which there is a dire need.”
In a recent Press release, WHO country representative, Professor Jean-Marie Dangou Director reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to support Government in strengthening the health system and implementation of the National Health Strategy (NHS 2022 – 2025) for which delivery of safe and quality SOA care are among its top priorities.
A hernia is when a part of the intestine pushes through a weak spot in the belly (abdominal) muscles. The hernia creates a soft lump or bulge under the skin.
