Health Ministry Begins Procurement Of Cancer Treatment Machines, Says Official
An official from the Ministry of Health and Childcare said the government has started procuring cancer treatment machines.
In the 2024 national budget, Finance, Economic Development, and Investment Promotion Minister Mthuli Ncube proposed a tax on sugary beverages. He said that the revenue would fund cancer treatments.
The initial tax was set at US$0.02 per gramme of sugar. After complaints from manufacturers, it was revised to US$0.002. Starting January 1, 2025, the tax was reduced to US$0.0005.
On January 13, 2025, the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) requested information from the Health Ministry. They sought details on how the sugar tax revenue was utilised.
The doctors based their request on section 7 of the Freedom of Information Act [Chapter 10:33].
In December 2024, Finance Secretary George Guvamatanga reported that the government collected US$30.8 million from the sugar surtax. This revenue was generated since the gazetting of Statutory Instrument 16 of 2024 in February.
Responding to NewsDay, Donald Mujiri, spokesperson for the Health and Child Care Ministry, said that the procurement of cancer treatment machines has received all necessary approvals. Said Mujiri:
The Health and Child Care Ministry has identified the need to procure cancer treatment machines, which have been a critical requirement in the health sector since 2018.
The Ministry of Health has already started the procurement process for the much-needed cancer treatment machines and has received all the required approvals from the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe.
A 2023 report says Zimbabwe is recording around 8,500 new cancer cases annually. This number has been steadily increasing over the years.
The most common cancers in Zimbabwe include cervical cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and Kaposi sarcoma
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