Chronicle Editor
Thandeka Moyo-Ndlovu, [email protected]
DR Allan Ngulube, a specialist at Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo, has been honoured with a prestigious global award for his dedication and service in performing lifesaving endoscopic procedures and surgeries. He is the recipient of the 2023 Avison Global Leadership Award, which is given to foreign doctors who were trained at a South Korean university and showed a life of service.
The award is named after Dr Oliver Avison, the founder of Severance Hospital, which is part of the Yonsei University Health System (YUHS). According to the Korea Biomedical Review, every year, Severance Hospital selects one foreign medical doctor who was trained at YUHS and exemplified the service spirit of Dr Avison.
Dr Ngulube, who is originally from Gweru, was trained at YUHS in 2018, when he was accepted into a three-month fellowship. He learned endoscopic surgery and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), which are techniques that allow a doctor to examine and treat the inside of the body without major surgery. An endoscope is a long, flexible tube with a lens and a camera at the end. He returned to Mpilo after completing his fellowship and continued working as a general surgeon, operating on people with a special focus on the neck, abdomen and limbs. He said he applied for the fellowship because he wanted to gain more skills on how practitioners in first-world countries conducted their surgeries.
“I am a general surgeon which means I operate on people with a special focus on the neck, abdomen and limbs. I came to Bulawayo in 2018 after finishing my undergrad and masters in Harare as I knew I would be closer to my family. I then decided to apply for a fellowship during the same year as I yearned to gain more skills on how practitioners in first-world countries conducted their surgeries,” said Dr Ngulube.
In 2022, he received a grant which he used to purchase a used endoscope, repaired it to connect to the light source donated two years earlier and began using it. He introduced endoscopy to his patients, who previously had no access to it at Mpilo, the largest hospital in Bulawayo and the second largest in Zimbabwe after Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare. Mpilo services the southern region, which includes Bulawayo, Masvingo,
Midlands, Matabeleland North and South provinces.
Dr Ngulube said he was humbled to receive the award, which came as a surprise to him. He said he did not expect to be recognised for his work, which he did out of passion and compassion for his patients, especially the poor who could not afford specialist services.
“The hospital didn’t do anything at that time as there were some missing parts in the old machine. So we sourced the missing parts. With most grants, you report back on what you have been doing. The professors paid a surprise visit to see how we were doing in April, I thought it was just a visit. I got a message in
September that I had received an award for having an impact on my community,” he said.
He said Mpilo is a busy public institution and sometimes he sees people who are sick and he becomes the only person who stands between them and death. He said he works tirelessly to save his people with limited resources. He said on average he sees 15 people in need of surgery and he can only perform at most four daily. He said besides the equipment, Mpilo had limited theatres and equipment which resulted in his department failing to cater for everyone in need.
“I call upon the corporate world to also chip in and help us to equip our public hospital. Yes, the Government does give us resources but they are never enough, the demand is high and we need more resources to ensure that our people get help. Sometimes patients are put on waiting lists for weeks or months because even in private practices we can only help one or two.
“I think the hospital would benefit a lot if the corporate world comes in, the Government tries and sends available resources but it is not enough. We have companies that are operational and some patients work for these companies we have people who cannot afford them. It can be chemicals to sterilise the equipment, it can be equipment. Arms are always open, we are ready to receive every kind of help,” he said.
Online Reporter