News / Health
Ignorance kills Zim women says health expert
26 Jul 2014 at 06:52hrs | Views
Evidence has shown that women in Zimbabwe are not aware of reproductive health and normally associate miscarriages and related health complications with witchcraft, a health expert said on Friday.
Speaking to journalists at an event to discharge Portia Tapfumanei who suffered fromstomach fibroids for four years and was operated recently at Chitungwiza Central Hospital, chief executive officer, Obadiah Moyo, said individuals should have trust in the country's health institutions as most of them had the capacity to handle most health complications.
Tapfumanei's fibroids weighed 25 kilogrammes.
"I thought I was dying. I looked for help from everywhere to no avail. The team at this hospital helped me a lot and removed something that I had suffered of for a long time in a matter of hours," said Tapfumanei.
Her condition is medically known as Liposarcoma, which is a rare cancer of connective tissues that resemble fat cells under a microscope and may form a soft or hard lump when they appear on fleshless parts of the body.
Tapfumanei could not seek early treatment because she first associated her illness with witchcraft as her stomach continued to grow yet she was not pregnant.
"Portia had given up on everything and received help at the last minute. Women should be aware of changes in their body, especially their reproductive health and should seek early treatment. Some die simply because they don't consider this seriously. If your stomach gets swollen and you are not pregnant, go to the hospital, don't rush to suspect witchcraft. Hospitals are there to help; doctors are there to help so why not lay trust in us," said Moyo.
He said despite the brain drain, the country still had health experts who were knowledgeable in various medical fields.
"We have experts in Zimbabwe and we are also capacitating our health institutions to match our intellectual standards so that we can handle any situation and deliver the best, even under this economy where economic sanctions continue to infringe on our efforts, we are mandated to try," he said.
The three hour surgery was led by the hospital's gynecologist, Albert Tadros, who recently issued a warning on fibroids together with Michael Chiwanga and a team of nurses and young doctors.
In an interview, Tadros echoed Moyo's sentiments, saying it was worrying to note how people don't take their health issues seriously.
Meanwhile, the wife of Army General, Constantine Chiwenga, who was the guest of honour at the event, Mary, said her organisation, Musha Mukadzi, would assist Tapfumanei until she got back on her feet. She also handed a few gifts to Tapfumanei.
Speaking to journalists at an event to discharge Portia Tapfumanei who suffered fromstomach fibroids for four years and was operated recently at Chitungwiza Central Hospital, chief executive officer, Obadiah Moyo, said individuals should have trust in the country's health institutions as most of them had the capacity to handle most health complications.
Tapfumanei's fibroids weighed 25 kilogrammes.
"I thought I was dying. I looked for help from everywhere to no avail. The team at this hospital helped me a lot and removed something that I had suffered of for a long time in a matter of hours," said Tapfumanei.
Her condition is medically known as Liposarcoma, which is a rare cancer of connective tissues that resemble fat cells under a microscope and may form a soft or hard lump when they appear on fleshless parts of the body.
Tapfumanei could not seek early treatment because she first associated her illness with witchcraft as her stomach continued to grow yet she was not pregnant.
He said despite the brain drain, the country still had health experts who were knowledgeable in various medical fields.
"We have experts in Zimbabwe and we are also capacitating our health institutions to match our intellectual standards so that we can handle any situation and deliver the best, even under this economy where economic sanctions continue to infringe on our efforts, we are mandated to try," he said.
The three hour surgery was led by the hospital's gynecologist, Albert Tadros, who recently issued a warning on fibroids together with Michael Chiwanga and a team of nurses and young doctors.
In an interview, Tadros echoed Moyo's sentiments, saying it was worrying to note how people don't take their health issues seriously.
Meanwhile, the wife of Army General, Constantine Chiwenga, who was the guest of honour at the event, Mary, said her organisation, Musha Mukadzi, would assist Tapfumanei until she got back on her feet. She also handed a few gifts to Tapfumanei.
Source - The Zim mail
