SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe
A fire believed to have started in the kitchen at Chidamoyo Mission Hospital in Hurungwe is reported to have gutted part of the building and destroyed millions of dollars worth of critically needed anti-retroviral drugs.
According to the state-run Herald newspaper, technicians from the power authority ZESA were unable to determine the cause of the blaze, which started just after midnight last week Thursday and spread to other parts of the hospital. Some heavy duty equipment was ruined along with HIV drugs worth over $2 million.
Chidamoyo Mission Hospital was established in 1963 and has played an important role in the Hurungwe community since then. Fortunately, not all was lost to the fire.
The Herald said the maternity ward was able to continue with deliveries, the surgery theatre was reconnected Tuesday and the damaged kitchen has already been replaced by a makeshift one outside.
More importantly, limited supplies of tuberculosis and HIV drugs are being provided by Karoi and Chinhoyi hospitals. But this is a temporary arrangement and Chidamoyo will soon need crucial donations of the drugs again.
According to The Herald newspaper, the Minister for Health, Dr. David Parirenyatwa and Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo, assessed the damage in person and promised to do all they could to assist in rebuilding the hospital.
But both are ZANU PF Ministers who have served in government for long periods, during which there has been a serious decline in the health sector. A shortage of basic drugs, equipment and qualified staff is affecting all government run clinics and hospitals. There are not enough beds at most institutions and no plan in place to improve the situation.
The fire at Chidamoyo Hospital was reported in the same week that the Herald published results of their own survey, which revealed that the cost of medical care in Zimbabwe is the highest in Southern Africa. Medical procedures in Zimbabwe now cost more than twice the cost in other developing countries like India, Zambia, Malawi and South Africa.