Two years after Joe Biden removed executive order sanctions and the EU removed its Council Regulation sanctions, Zimbabwe has now received brand new cancer machines from the Netherlandsโafter 25 years of not being allowed to import or repair such medical equipment.
The removal of sanctions not only allowed the government to order the machines, but it also opened the way for the Netherlands to receive payments from Zimbabwe and to have them cleared by EU and U.S. banks without them being blocked due to OFAC restrictions.
As a result, technicians can now come to train end user, install and maintain the machines in Zimbabwe, something that wasnโt possible under sanctions.
Nevertheless, this good news didnโt start here. It started with the US and EU removing sanctions in 2024. Immediately, our government engaged US companies to begin repairing the old cancer therapy machines at Parirenyatwa and Mpilo hospitals. As a result, over the past two years people have been receiving chemotherapy at Parirenyatwa.
At that point, the government also ordered new machines, which required a lead time of two years to manufacture and deliver. Now the old machines will be sent to provincial hospitals in other parts of the country to treat patients and save lives there.
The reason we fought sanctions as a crime against humanity was because sanctions were destroying the right to life by denying people access to healthcare, medicines, medical equipment, clean water, and food. We fought for our government to once again be able to generate enough revenue to buy these machines without sanctions blockages, in order to give our people the right to life, security, and dignity.
We hope this saves lives and reduces the number of Zimbabweans seeking healthcare outside Zimbabwe. Well done to the Ministry of Health which currently falls under Vice President Mohadiโs portfolio and well done to the government as a whole. This is all Zimbabweans want.
Written by Rutendo Matinyarare, Chairman of ZASM.
