HARARE
—
Tubes
snaked
across
3-year-old
Gracious
Chikova’s
bandaged
chest
in
the
intensive
care
unit
of
a
government
hospital
in
Zimbabwe’s
capital,
Harare.
Just
a
day
earlier,
surgeons
had
opened
her
tiny
heart
to
repair
a
defect
that
threatened
her
life.
Now
she
sipped
a
drink
from
a
syringe,
her
mother
anxiously
watching
her
every
breath.
“I
had
given
up.
Those
with
money
have
been
taking
their
children
to
India
for
surgery,
but
I
simply
couldn’t
afford
it,”
said
Vimbainashe
Chakanungwa
as
she
helped
her
daughter
sip
her
meal.
Chakanungwa’s
monthly
salary
as
a
teacher
is
about
$300,
barely
enough
for
household
basics,
let
alone
surgery.
Gracious
is
one
of
10
children
who
received
free
open-heart
surgery
in
July
at
Parirenyatwa
Hospital
from
a
visiting
team
of
Egyptian
surgeons
working
alongside
Zimbabwean
doctors.
In
a
country
with
just
a
handful
of
cardiothoracic
specialists
and
chronic
shortages
of
functioning
equipment
in
public
hospitals,
the
“heart
camp”
offered
hope
to
families
who
can’t
imagine
raising
the
$15,000
needed
for
surgery
abroad.
Zimbabwe
has
only
five
cardiothoracic
surgeons,
including
Dr.
Kudzai
Kanyepi,
the
country’s
first
and
only
female
heart
surgeon.
“There
is
no
medication
that
can
replace
surgery.
The
burden
of
disease
remains,
and
unfortunately
some
of
the
children
pass
away
without
getting
the
help
they
desperately
need,”
Kanyepi
said.
“It
is
the
reason
why
we
continue
to
work
in
our
country.
There
is
nothing
greater
than
helping
your
own
people.”
Zimbabwe
resumed
open-heart
operations
in
2023
after
they
were
paused
in
2018
due
to
economic
turmoil.
Since
then,
local
surgeons
have
operated
on
55
children.
Another
19
have
benefited
from
two
surgical
camps
last
year
and
in
July
with
Egyptian
assistance
and
supported
by
nongovernmental
organisations
such
as
Gift
of
Life
International.
Globally,
about
one
in
every
100
children
is
born
with
congenital
heart
disease,
making
it
the
world’s
most
common
birth
defect,
according
to
the
U.S.
Centers
for
Disease
Control
and
Prevention.
In
Zimbabwe,
an
estimated
4,500
children
are
born
with
heart
disease
each
year,
with
many
unable
to
access
surgery,
said
Dr.
Simukayi
Machawira,
head
of
cardiology
at
the
hospital.
Of
those,
30
percent
—
or
around
1,200
infants
—
are
likely
to
die
in
their
first
year
if
untreated,
he
said.
“You
can
imagine,
it’s
quite
a
lot
of
children,”
he
said.
Dr.
Hesham
Shawky,
the
Egyptian
team
leader,
has
organised
similar
camps
in
Kenya
and
Uganda.
“This
is
the
only
solution
for
many
people
in
Africa
because
they
can’t
afford
private
care,”
he
said.
On
the
ward
in
Zimbabwe,
mothers
hovered
over
their
children,
relief
etched
on
their
faces.
Machines
beeped
softly
as
nurses
adjusted
tubes.
One
baby
slept
beside
a
balloon
scrawled
with
a
smiley
face.
For
Chakanungwa,
the
joy
over
her
child
was
hard
to
measure.
“I
had
resorted
to
prayer,
just
hoping
for
a
miracle,”
Chakanungwa
said,
smiling.
“It’s
impossible
to
open
my
heart
to
show
my
gratitude
and
happiness.
I
was
afraid
that
I
could
lose
my
baby,
but
here
is
the
baby.
She’s
back
to
life.”
–
AP