More doctors, nurses to get specialised training . . . courtesy of First Lady, Merck Foundation partnership

Tendai Rupapa-Senior Reporter

EMPOWERMENT champion, First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa’s partnership with Merck Foundation, has yielded more specialist training opportunities for Zimbabwean nurses and doctors in oncology, palliative care and pain management, radiation oncology and psychiatry to manage and rehabilitate victims of drug and substance abuse. 

The programme will also see more female oncologists being trained.

The scholarships were unveiled yesterday in India where Amai Mnangagwa joined other First Ladies attending the 10th edition of the Merck Foundation Africa-Asia luminary 2023 annual conference amid clear indications of the need to still continue other training in fertility and embryology.

So far, the partnership has seen over 100 Zimbabwean doctors trained in specialised areas mainly of women’s health that include reproductive and sexual care and fertility care capacity.

The doctors are expected to support the public health system to improve access to equitable and quality healthcare.

Amai Mnangagwa, who is the country’s health ambassador and also the ambassador for Merck-More than a Mother in Zimbabwe, works with the Ministry of Health and Child Care to select doctors from all the country’s provinces.

Zimbabwe, like many other parts of the world, is facing an unprecedented surge in drug abuse and according to experts, drug and substance use can contribute to the development of mental illness. 

Hence the importance of the scholarships in Psychiatry so that once they complete training, the doctors will ensure the First Lady’s vision to fight drug abuse and rehabilitate survivors is fulfilled.

The new development came as Dr Mnangagwa and her counterparts converged to share success stories of their long term partnership with Merck Foundation as well as an overview of the national programmes they are undertaking in their respective countries.

The mother of the nation kept guests and other First Ladies on the edges of their seats with a captivating narration of her life-transforming projects she has and is still initiating in Zimbabwe.

She has initiated several projects that have accelerated livelihood transformation particularly for the less privileged.

Through her Angel of Hope Foundation, vulnerable communities have had access to quality education, health care services, cervical, prostate and breast cancer screening free of charge. 

To improve health care provision for marginalised areas, she has established health posts and clinics in rural areas which offer outpatient, maternal and child health services. 

She is currently constructing her Mother and Child hospital in Harare which is nearing completion.

Amai Mnangagwa is also promoting the preservation of cultural values, enhancing the fight against drug abuse as well as spearheading various girl child and women empowerment programmes.

Dr Mnangagwa described Merck Foundation as an all-weather partner that had helped transform the lives of most people significantly.

“Merck Foundation, I want to say to you, you are a true and all-weather partner. Your coming into Zimbabwe with the training of our doctors, has seen them benefiting a lot and helped them build up services. This has also helped my office as the First Lady in advocating more on health issues mainly Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) backed by the doctors that received education through Merck Foundation,” she said to applause. 

She spoke about her empowerment of the country’s citizenry through education through her trailblazing Angel of Hope Foundation which has a partnership with Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU) to give people life-transforming skills in various fields.

“I am taking people back to school regardless of age so that they are able to learn life skills and be able to manage their small businesses which eventually grow. I also brought in the cancer awareness programmes,” she said

She further spoke about how she launched the National Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, which led to the vaccination of 800 000 school-going girls to assist in the fight against cancer.

The HPV vaccination programme is ongoing.

The mother of the nation gave insights into the work she is doing to curb the drug and substance abuse scourge which is affecting mainly young people.

“We also have the drug menace which has hit most of the countries and Zimbabwe is not spared. I am working with the people who are living and working on the streets and drug addicts who I want to be off the streets and also for their health to be taken care of. Once they are in those drugs they are not able to tell what is happening and we have seen most of our youths dying,” she said. 

Programmes, Dr Mnangagwa said, were also being implemented to ease the plight of women with infertility challenges who largely did not have anyone to assist them.

“In partnership with Merck Foundation, we have initiated projects for these women so that they are self-reliant. Some now own properties through these projects. I am also the patron for Agric4She, a women farming project, and through farming, they can now sustain their lives and families. I have taken every woman on board including those with challenges. Once you have given them empowerment, that’s the life-sustaining programme that they yearn for,” she said.

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Another programme that thrilled the audience was the one catering for school dropouts and teen mothers so that they earn a decent living and afforded the chance to return to school.

“I am also working with the dropouts from school. Girls that dropped out of school because of Covid-19, I have also given them some projects to do including sewing and are getting a chance to go back to school. I gave them sewing machines and material and all needed accessories such that they can now make clothes and reusable pads and they are also making for other girls who cannot afford pads. I have come up with a sewing factory which I am now taking all the girls and women with fertility challenges, the middle aged groups to come and have lessons on cutting and designing and making their own garments,” she said.

The First Lady also spoke about the clinic she built in her rural home of Chiweshe for the benefit of the people.

“I built a clinic in my rural area which is catering for a number of people around and some of the doctors who received training from Merck Foundation are servicing that clinic,” she said.

Other First Ladies also took turns to share their experiences.

Chairman of Merck Foundation Board of Trustees Professor Dr Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp paid glowing tribute to First Ladies for the success of their programmes they are undertaking in partnership with Merck Foundation.

“When we started this Foundation, we never expected such a roaring success in helping many people in many countries in Africa and Asia as well. I must say that it became very clear to me yesterday with all this support and the enormous effort and dedication of the First Ladies who without their support, we would never ever have achieved this.

You are doing a good job. The impact we have in this Merck Foundation cycle is really through the efforts of the First Ladies. Of course First Ladies are there for a number of years because of the nature of politics but I am quite sure many of them will continue to support us because they remain very important personalities in their respective countries. I am very happy and yesterday we had more than 6000 people watching online which is fantastic and it really proves that we are making enormous progress,” he said. 

Merck Foundation CEO, Senator Dr Rasha Kelej, also sang praises to First Ladies for their efforts to make a difference in their respective countries, giving great impact to the foundation’s programmes.

“Your being here shows clear dedication and clear partnership to follow up on all the programmes we are doing to enhance health care and address social issues in Africa and in the whole world. By presenting your works, it helps in sharing ideas and learning from each other. It is important to exchange knowledge and experience. Thank you for your valuable participation and contributions,” she said.