Chiwenga says Mnangagwa is the best foot forward

President Mnangagwa and a Zanu-PF Government is the best foot forward towards the realisation of Zimbabwe's national health targets that best serve the people and their needs, Vice President and Minister of Health and Child Care Dr Constantino Chiwenga has said.

VP Chiwenga said this when he officiated at the relaunching of the country's open heart surgery facility at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals in Harare yesterday.

The relaunch of the open-heart surgery service, one of the most delicate medical surgical procedures, is yet another specialty added to Zimbabwe's roaster which will go a long way in the country's quest towards universal health coverage of sufficient quality consistent with an empowered upper-middle income economy envisioned by President Mnangagwa.

The last such surgery in Zimbabwe was done in 2018 before authorities halted the procedure as they sought to revamp the service in a bid to guarantee patient safety and improve quality of service.

Speaking at the relaunch, VP Chiwenga said this was evidence that President Mnangagwa and the ruling Zanu-PF party were walking the talk in terms of improving the country's health services and thus implored the electorate to give him a further mandate in harmonised elections slated for August 23.

"The fact that the open heart surgery is being performed by local medical practitioners is testimony to the call by the President, His Excellency Dr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa that we are responsible for developing our country," said VP Chiwenga.

"The Government under the leadership of the President, His Excellency, Dr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa has invested a lot of money in terms of training, procurement and servicing equipment. In this regard, more resources will be deployed to ensure the Open-Heart Surgery programme is decentralised starting with Mpilo Central Hospital to cater for the southern region of the country.

"As we head for harmonised elections, let me emphasise that the continued presence of the Zanu-PF Government will ensure that the programmes in the health sector, outlined in the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) as we stride towards Vision 2030, are accomplished," he said.

In light of operational resumption, VP Chiwenga said Government was undertaking several strategies aimed at clearing the surgeries backlog which accumulated during the sabbatical.

To date, the facility has had its first successful surgery after reopening and synergies have been established with countries that have made progress in the specialty and these include Kenya, South Africa and Egypt.

An efficient national health system is central towards improving people's lives and Government, under the Second Republic, is prioritising its improvement.

VP Chiwenga also toured the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) unit under renovation at the hospital which is expected to be opened in the next six weeks.

Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals Chief Medical Officer Dr Aspect Maunganidze said the relaunched open heart surgery unit was coming with improved facilities.

"There is new equipment and this comes with improved monitoring before, during and after the surgery, and that guarantees good results.

"New equipment for MRI is now there and the work that still needs to be done before it is opened is approximately six weeks," said Dr Maunganidze.