Chronicle Editor
Tendai Rupapa in New York, USA
ANGEL of Hope Foundation patron First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa, who is also Zimbabwe’s health and child care ambassador, has shed light on advocacy programmes she is undertaking to tackle nutritional challenges, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and social ills bedeviling the country.
She outlined her work in combating cancer among men and women, the human papillomavirus (HPV) among children, child marriages and gender-based violence (GBV) in a wide-ranging interview with Anne Foulke Toner, the associate director, digital communications, at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.
Dr Mnangagwa highlighted how her foundation relies on partners and well-wishers for resource mobilisation, and paid tribute to the Global First Ladies Academy, whose roundtable discussions allow First Ladies to discuss the diverse programmes they are implementing in their countries.
“The academy put some focus on the First Ladies’ training, highlighting how important the First Lady’s office is; how impactful it is and how you, as a mother, have to take everybody on board and not to be partisan. We are discussing health issues as well; coupled with the healthy traditional foods that we are promoting in Zimbabwe, which come in as medicinal. In Africa, we have cases of child marriages and this challenge is shouldered mainly by mothers of the nations. We also have gender-based violence cases on the rise and diseases like cancer in both men and women. Therefore, the advocacy and awareness to curb these challenges are also on the shoulders of the First Lady,” she said.
Dr Mnangagwa spoke about how she is offering free accommodation to cancer patients coming from outside the capital city, Harare, where they stay for the duration of their treatment to reduce travelling costs and ensure they allow themselves time to heal in one location.
“Through my foundation, Angel of Hope, I have accommodation where I am housing cancer patients who come from afar so that they do not continue moving to and fro, since they are already vulnerable. I am looking after the cancer patients through working with the Ministry of Health and Child Care, which takes them to hospital and returns them to that place until a time doctors feel that they can go home. There is a lot that a First Lady can do as we come in as soft power and make sure that life is easier for everyone,” she said.
The First Lady shed light on the success of her HPV vaccination programme, which she launched in 2018, targeting girls aged between 10 and 14 years to ensure they do not develop cancer.
“When I came into office in 2017, I came in with the programme of vaccination against HPV, targeting schoolgirls between 10 and 14 years of age. We had more than 800 000 girls who were vaccinated in 2018 and I am looking forward to continuing the HPV vaccination programme. As you know, HPV leads to cancer, so if we catch them young, then treatment will be easier and this is also preventative.
“I am continuing with the HPV vaccination. During the one we had in 2018, children were going for two jabs, but now, we are saying if we can get one jab per girl, then most of the girls will come and benefit. This is because we have a problem of gathering them together for the second jab. Some of them do not return for the second jab; so we are pressing for them to have one jab. That way, we make sure that more girls are covered,” she said confidently.
Dr Mnangagwa said public health and development were intertwined, particularly when battling preventable diseases such as cervical cancer.
“This is important when we come together and learn with open minds as First Ladies. There is no one who can do it alone without a mentor. But together as a team, we benefit a lot as we put emphasis on health issues. It is not like we have not been doing what we are learning here; we are already doing it and this is a reminder that we should push forward,” she said.
She added: “I think it is important to address health issues using a public health approach and promoting the determinants of health. This is important as it brings development. Improving prevention programmes like screening for cancer, diabetes mellitus and hypertension is way cheaper than dealing with these conditions when they have developed. It is expensive for the country. So, public health programmes are linked to development; the two are complementary,” she said.
Amai Mnangagwa also told the world about her toll-free line — 575 — that she introduced to fight GBV and her male engagement programme geared to curb the scourge, responsible for breaking marriages apart, leaving children as victims.
“My office, as First Lady, has come up with a toll-free number through which people are phoning in and saying that they have been beaten or chased out of the house, along with their children, at night. I personally answer the calls often, with calls coming from all over the country. Now, I have a programme where I engage men in a respectful manner as per our culture, to get to the bottom of the problem.
“I am also engaging young couples. I said to myself, if I do not engage them, we will never find solutions to the problem. Women are mostly the victims, though there are also men being abused, and through these programmes, I want to know the causes. So, I have a database of the cases that I share with the Ministry of Health, the police and churches as well. I take those who have been abused and then I train them to give them life-changing skills. While they are healing, they will be doing something. I have a reusable sanitary pads sewing programme, under which I am teaching women to make pads, which are then distributed to the vulnerable and mostly school-going children,” she said.
The mother of the nation highlighted her achievements in screening both men and women for cancer through working with the Ministry of Health.
“Coming to cancer screening, I have advocated and taken the awareness programme to rural areas, those places that are hard-to-reach and where information does not travel as much as we would want. I have gone to rural areas to promote cancer screening and to educate our people. You know, we are dealing with the aged, the disabled, and everybody is at risk of contracting cancer everywhere. The advocacy that I am doing in my office has seen the numbers increasing. From 1 000 a month, the numbers jumped to more than 10 000 a month.
“Every day, we are saying the moment you are close to your hospital, make sure that you are screened free of charge. Everyone is going just to be checked, so that they know their status in terms of cancer and all other ailments. About cancer, it’s very important for everyone to know their status and the symptoms. I go to the people, talk to them, be with them, educate them on the importance of regular health checks. Eventually, they will know that every month they have to go to be checked. It is very important and I am very happy with that. I will continue working on that,” Dr Mnangagwa said.
She mentioned how her foundation’s mobile clinic had come in handy in ensuring citizens in all corners of the country benefitted from the cancer screening programme.
“For the anti-cancer programme, I have a mobile bus which has equipment in it. I take it to all rural areas, where people are screened for all cancers — breast, cervical and prostate cancer. In support of that, I have other stations from the Ministry of Health and Child Care that take care of diabetics, those with hypertension and other ailments.
“Each time I visit remote areas, I go with the mobile clinic and the supporting medical team so that at least we curb the problems. For expectant mothers, as a foundation, we are building maternity waiting shelters, where they can stay when they are about to give birth to avoid risky home births. We are encouraging our people to go to clinics and hospitals to give birth safely,” she said.
Adding on cancer screening, she said: “As First Lady, I am working very hard with the Ministry of Health and Child Care so that we take all the girls and bring awareness about HPV, which leads to cancer. I will resume my campaign on the HPV vaccination because it’s very important that we do not lose our girls who are the future. I am zooming in on the girl child because that is where it all starts. At the same time, I also teach and call on elderly women to go for cancer screening because cancer knows no age,” she said.
Dr Mnangagwa expressed her appreciation of the academy programme.
“It is my first time to attend and it is about self-building and the confidence that comes with it. It also brings us together with the other First Ladies because the problems that we face are similar as mothers,” she said.
Bongani Ndlovu