By Dr. Ntombi Muchuchuti (PhD) | Executive Director
Kidzcan with your continued support remain committed to working for the betterment of the lives of children with cancer, their families and caregivers. This is in line with the mission of the organization of increasing the survival rate of children with cancer in a caring and loving environment. Childhood cancer services and management remain centralized at Parirenyatwa Group Hospitals. It should be noted, therefore that the cancer patients and their families travel long distances for services mostly by inappropriate means of transportation such as public transport with no provisions for the very ill patients. This causes delay in the referrals with patients arriving in advance stages of illnesses.
Despite the harsh economic climate prevailing in the country, Kidzcan’s presence in the wards has been consistent and unwavering. Kidzcan in the quarter under review registered a total of 68 patients who received the following clinical services, bloods 78, Drugs 308, Bone marrow needles 35, Diagnostics 1, 1 wheel chair and clothes to four patients, 4 psychosocial support meetings with individual counseling and 11 transport fares. Although Kidzcan provided a total of 11 patients with transport fares in the quarter under, review this falls far too short from easing transportation burden on the patients and the conditions associated with their long journey to the only centre that provides hope to the cancer patients and their families (Parirenyatwa).
Within the first quarter of 2017; only 23.5% of children registered by Kidzcan were resident in the capital city and province where the only cancer management institution is located whilst 76.5% were referred from the remaining 9 provinces of the country. On average the other provinces are 500 kilometres away from the centralized cancer services in the country. Worth noting during the quarter under review is that Kidzcan is not only taking care of the vulnerable children in Zimbabwean communities, as evidenced by the fact that the majority of patients from Manicaland province are Mozambican citizens who have been displaced by the civil strife in their own countries and taken refuge at Tongogara refugee camp in Chipinge. These patients in difficulties circumstances need our helping hand to access the much centralized cancer services with dignity.
The period under review also saw Kidzcan doing a follow-up on 2016 defaulters. The follow-ups established that 5 patients had lost the battle, 16 patients are now on remission, and 13 transferred either to adult wards or to other institutions out of the country and 19 defaulted as a result of lack of transport fares resulting in them resorting to readily available service providers such as Faith Healers, Traditional Medical Practitioners and herbalist which contributes to poor health outcomes.
Kidzcan provides psychosocial support to hospitalised children which also includes inducting them on what to expect during hospitalisation. There is less anxiety for both the children fighting cancer and their parents/caregivers.
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