HARARE – Zimbabwe is blaming United States sanctions after critical cancer equipment broke down at its biggest referral hospitals – Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals in Harare and Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo.
A doctors’ union accused the government of denying cancer patients their constitutionally guaranteed right to healthcare.
In a brief statement on Tuesday, the Information Ministry said: “The government has noted reports that Parirenyatwa and Mpilo Hospitals are failing to repair broken down radiotherapy machines due to forex challenges.
“The US$53,000 needed was availed last week, but the hospitals are failing to transact owing to sanctions restrictions on the banks they use.”
The exact nature of how sanctions had affected repairs to the radiotherapy machines could not be established.
Mpilo Hospital clinical director Dr Solwayo Ngwenya referred questions about sanctions to the Information Ministry.
Mpilo has also stopped breast cancer screenings after its mammogram machine broke down.
Mpilo, which has over 150 patients accessing radiation services, says its radiotherapy machine breaks down whenever there is a power outage, forcing patients to find alternative treatments at great expense.
The government recently purchased US$100,000 worth of uninterrupted power supply (UPS) batteries that are being installed in the hope it would fix the problem.
The Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights said in a statement: “Cancer patients are being denied their right to healthcare as provided by the constitution of Zimbabwe through Section 76.
“Clinically, delays or interruptions in accessing radiotherapy sessions may result in tumour cell repopulation and can also require that restaging of the tumours be done when normal service resumes.
“This is both costly to the health system as a whole and provides harmful treatment bottlenecks to cancer patients.
“It increases out-of-pocket health expenditures and consequently, household poverty as patients seek care in private but costly alternatives. The right to palliative care is entwined to the right to health and we condemn the psychological trauma cancer patients are made to go through during these episodes.”
The doctors called on Health Minister Obadiah Moyo to commission an investigation into “this cyclical and perennial breakdown of radiotherapy machines at Parirenyatwa and Mpilo hospitals especially on procurement and service support of equipment.”
