THE Cure Zimbabwe children’s hospital has partnered government to refurbish its clinic which offers free orthopaedic services to children.
Situated adjacent to the United Bulawayo Hospital, the health institution caters for disadvantaged children in society.
Speaking during an interview with Alpha Media Holdings chairperson Trevor Ncube on the In Conversation with Trevor platform, Paediatric and Orthopaedic surgeon Tongai Chitsamatanga said the hospital began operating last year, with its main focus being paediatric orthopaedics for conditions such as clubfoot and osteogenesis impefecta, when bones are brittle and easy to break.
Chitsamatanga said they also treated children with bone infections.
“To parents, (I say) now we have a place where we can assist children — these are things that we take for granted but when you look at some of the surgeries these children have or ought to have, they can cost as much as US$3 000 and not most families can afford such surgeries. So, with the coming into place of Cure Zimbabwe, it has taken away that element of cost,” Chitsamatanga said.
He said plans were underway to expand the hospital’s services to include cleft lip operations, spine surgeries and neurosurgery.
“From next year we will have a plastic surgeon that will be assisting us with cleft lips and burn contractures.”
He said they will also extend their operations to other towns, noting that in April they assisted 150 patients at Harare’s Parirenyatwa and Sally Mugabe hospitals.
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“Some of them came to Bulawayo for surgeries,” he added.
Cure Zimbabwe is part of Cure International, a non-profit organisation which built hospitals to assist disadvantaged children in Zimbabwe, Malawi, Kenya, Uganda, Philippines and Niger.
The institution also offers training to nurses in orthopaedics to improve quality of care.
- Watch full interview on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcDj6Fd8CBc
