Zim to set up regional urology centre

Talent Gore Herald Correspondent
Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals is in the process of establishing a regional urology centre of excellence after receiving equipment worth over US$200 000 from China.

The latest batch of the equipment, which was officially handed over to the hospital yesterday, includes machines for laparascopy, endoscopy, ureteric and renal procedures.

The equipment will enable doctors and trainees to perform all urological procedures in mmuch shorter time. The centre, which is expected to be the largest in Sub-Saharan Africa, is set to be fully functional by the end of 2021. Urology is the field of medicine that focuses on diseases of the urinary tract and the male reproductive tract.

Speaking at the handover ceremony in Harare, Health and Child Care Minister Dr Obadiah Moyo commended the Chinese government’s gesture.

“It is my great pleasure to receive this batch of urology equipment from the Chinese government,” he said. “The value and sophistication of the equipment is a clear testimony of how the bilateral relationship between Zimbabwe and China has flourished over time.

“This is not the first batch of medical equipment that we have received from China as a donation. They have supported our largest teaching hospital with the modern medical equipment which will go a long way in achieving better patient outcomes.”
Dr Moyo said the Ministry of Health and Child Care immensely benefited from the cordial relations that existed between Zimbabwe and China, in terms of infrastructure development, supply of medical equipment and medicines.

China’s Hunan Province Vice Governor, Ms Wu Guiying, underlined the solid medical ties that existed between Zimbabwe and her province. She said over the past 34 years, both sides have increasingly deepened the exchanges and cooperation in health care, which serves as a bridge of people-to-people ties between China and Zimbabwe.

“As for now, Hunan has sent 17 medical aid teams to Zimbabwe with a total of 166 medical workers,” said Ms Wu. “In recent years, Zimbabwe has sent about 100 medical staff members to Hunan Province for further study and exchanges.”

This year marked the fourth time that Xiangya Hospital of Central South University of China and Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals have collaborated on a programme on urology.