Posted:
12.04.2023 13:48:00
Minsk-Harare: healthy partnership priorities
The First Lady of Zimbabwe was shown the possibilities of Belarusian medicine — from unique technologies to helping mothers and children
At the end of January, Belarusians followed Aleksandr Lukashenko’s state visit to Zimbabwe. Attention was drawn not only to magnificent views, but also to promising areas of co-operation between the two countries. Then they talked a lot about the economy, defence and security, including food. The issue of health care, including maternal and infant mortality, has also been developed. Belarus has very good results in this regard: we have one of the lowest child mortality rates in the world. Wife of the President of Zimbabwe Auxillia Mnangagwa visited leading clinics, where she was shown the possibilities of Belarusian medicine and the unique technologies that are being introduced here. By the way, the visit was held in accordance with the agreements reached between the leaders of Belarus and Zimbabwe.
President Aleksandr Lukashenko,
“His wife [the President of Zimbabwe] is engaged in a fund that helps children. We will build a programme for this fund, start with some kind of humanitarian aid, transfer the most necessary things there and show Zimbabwe how children should be treated. But the most important thing is to feed the kids. We have baby food, dairy and meat mixtures. Let’s get busy, let a whole group of specialists come, we begin to teach them how to treat children.”
During a meeting with Belarusian scientists on February 9th, 2023
“His wife [the President of Zimbabwe] is engaged in a fund that helps children. We will build a programme for this fund, start with some kind of humanitarian aid, transfer the most necessary things there and show Zimbabwe how children should be treated. But the most important thing is to feed the kids. We have baby food, dairy and meat mixtures. Let’s get busy, let a whole group of specialists come, we begin to teach them how to treat children.”
During a meeting with Belarusian scientists on February 9th, 2023
Acquaintance with the healthcare system began with National Clinical Medical Centre of the Presidential Property Management Department. The guest was shown the departments where cancer screening, women’s health, diagnostics, education and rehabilitation are carried out.
The hospital chief Irina Abelskaya emphasised, “I know how much attention you pay to medicine in your country: the protection of motherhood and childhood, assistance to families and adolescents. This is very important for us, because our healthcare system also pays great attention to these areas.
During your stay in Belarus, we will try to show you some interesting multi-purpose medical institutions. I hope that our co-operation will help to strengthen the overall results in the provision of quality medical care.”
The First Lady of Zimbabwe was told that the diagnosis and treatment of patients with female pathology is carried out according to European standards. It is possible to make the necessary research in one day — this includes, for example, MRI, biopsy and ultrasound. In addition, the clinic conducts screening, which helps to detect a breast tumour 10 years earlier than it begins to manifest itself clinically.
“Wow, 10 years!” Auxillia Mnangagwa was impressed. She agreed with the opinion of the doctor of the centre that early detection of diseases not only affects the success of therapy, but also saves money. By the way, treatment of the first and third stages of cancer differs in cost by 30 times.
The next item on the list of visits is the National Research Centre Mother and Child. The First Lady was shown a unique building where they help babies with record low body weight. They introduced new technologies for nursing newborns and early rehabilitation of premature babies with serious illnesses.
We have already seen a lot and are impressed: the equipment and services here are at the highest level. This is my first visit and I really like it here. I can only say the most sincere and warm words about people, culture and cuisine. And even the snow makes me happy,” said Oxilia Mnangagwa during a press conference.
The First Lady stressed that she noticed opportunities for business co-operation during the visit, “We would be interested in seeing representatives of Zimbabwean business communities come to Belarus and establish the necessary contacts. At the same time, we will be glad if the Belarusian business explores our investment opportunities.”
HOWEVER
Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Aleinik also met with the First Lady of Zimbabwe.
The Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs warmly welcomed the guest on behalf of the Head of State, the government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Your visit is historic, as you are in Belarus for the first time. And also historic in the light of the co-operation agreements reached by our Presidents. Today’s interaction can be called a breakthrough in many areas of our bilateral relations. We look forward to and are ready to work towards achieving the goals set by our Heads of State.”
Sergei Aleinik stressed that Belarus and Zimbabwe have entered a new period of relations, strengthening political interaction and economic ties, “We are also developing humanitarian co-operation, as you will see during your visit.”
The key topics during the visit of the First Lady of Zimbabwe will be health, medical science, maternal and child health.
FIGURES AND FACTS
• Belarus occupies the 25th position in the ranking of the most comfortable countries for motherhood and is included in the top 50 countries in the world in terms of pregnancy management and organisation of childbirth.
• A multi-level system of maternal and child health care has been successfully operating in the country for more than 20 years. Belarus is ahead of all CIS countries and many developed countries of the world, including Great Britain, Denmark, Lithuania, Poland, and the USA in terms of infant mortality (2.6 per 1,000 live births).
• Survival of children with extremely low birth weight in the first year of life is more than 80 percent.
• Belarus ranks 4th in the world in terms of infant mortality under five years of age.
• Paediatric oncohematology is one of the leaders in its field in the world. The survival rate of children with malignant neoplasms is in line with the indicators in the EU and the USA. At the same time, the 20-year survival rate is about 75 percent, regardless of the stage and type of malignant neoplasm. New technologies, including cell therapy used in oncohematology, have saved the lives of more than 90 percent of patients with acute lymphocytic leukaemia and myeloid leukaemia, nephroblastoma.
Healthcare Minister, Dmitry Pinevich,
“In the course of our intensive communication, the delegation expressed a desire to see the oncology service, so we will have a big excursion to the largest oncology centres. There is an interest in developing business co-operation in the field of pharmaceuticals and equipment production. When we show our centres, we also demonstrate what Belarusian-made equipment they are equipped with. All these instructions were given by the Head of State.”
“In the course of our intensive communication, the delegation expressed a desire to see the oncology service, so we will have a big excursion to the largest oncology centres. There is an interest in developing business co-operation in the field of pharmaceuticals and equipment production. When we show our centres, we also demonstrate what Belarusian-made equipment they are equipped with. All these instructions were given by the Head of State.”
By Khristina Glushko
