Zimbabwe: Lack of awareness stifles fight against childhood cancer
Source:
HARARE, Zimbabwe – Miranda Muvengwa, 9, succumbed to a deadly cancer last year.
Living in a single rented room in the Zimbabwean capital Harare’s densely populated suburb Mabvuku, her 26-year-old mother Mavis Chikate, said memories of her child and her last painful moments are haunting her.
Since then, the distraught mother has stopped attending her roadside shop.
The outbreak of coronavirus further aggravated the problem. Her father Gibson Muvengwa, 29, said that due to lockdown restrictions, he could not transport his daughter to South Africa for better treatment.
“It is not easy witnessing your only child struggling, let alone with cancer-killing her in the process. Due to continued lockdown, we could not travel to any country to seek better treatment for our daughter,” he told Anadolu Agency.