Bulawayo, (New Ziana) —The government remains responsible for setting health policy, providing public health leadership, regulating the sector and ensuring services are accessible and equitable, a senior official has said.
Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Judith Ncube said this on Wednesday at the renaming of the Cimas Bulawayo Medical Centre to Sipho Zwana Medical Centre.
Dr Sipho Leonard Vivian Zwana is a pioneering Zimbabwean doctor and the first Black anaesthetist in the country who was born on March 19, 1933, at Tekwane Mission in Plumtree,Matabeleland South province.
Ncube said private healthcare providers are important partners in strengthening the healthcare system in the country, particularly as the health needs of the country become more complex.
“Cimas Health Group, as a private healthcare provider, complements this national responsibility through investment in infrastructure, technology, healthcare professionals, diagnostics, primary healthcare, medical aid, wellness programs and other services,” she told guests, adding such investments expand the capacity of the national health system and support improved health outcomes and healthier communities.
She stressed that collaboration between the public and private sectors is essential to broadening access to quality healthcare, encouraging innovation and raising service standards.
The government, she said, welcomes initiatives that strengthen quality, widen access and improve the standard of healthcare available to Zimbabweans.
Ncube described the naming of the centre after Dr Zwana as more than a commemoration of an individual medical practitioner.
“By putting Dr Sipho Zwana’s name on this centre, we are doing more than remembering a doctor. May the name Dr Sipho Leonard Vivian Zwana continue to inspire doctors, nurses, scientists, technicians, students and healthcare professionals who pass through these doors,” she said.
Dr Zwana qualified as a medical doctor from the University of Natal Medical School in South Africa in 1960, an achievement that came during an era when opportunities for Black Africans to pursue medical training were severely restricted.
After graduating, in 1961 he became the first Black doctor permitted to work at the Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo.
His pioneering work continued in 1970 when he became the first Black Zimbabwean anaesthetist after obtaining a Fellowship diploma from the Faculty of Anaesthetists of the Royal College of Surgeons.
Dr Zwana’s professional career spanned more than five decades and included service in Zimbabwe, the United Kingdom, Ghana and Kenya.
After practising abroad, he returned to Bulawayo, where he worked at Bulawayo Central Hospital and later Mater Dei Hospital from 1987 until his retirement in December 2013.
He died in February 2019.
Speaking on the same occasion, Cimas chief executive officer Vuli Ndlovu described the renaming as a lasting commitment to preserve Dr Zwana’s contribution to medicine and inspire future generations of health professionals.
He noted that Dr Zwana was among eight African students listed in a 1954 Southern Rhodesian government bursary circular for medical training, alongside other future medical and national leaders including Dr Tichafa Samuel Parirenyatwa, Dr Herbert Ushewokunze and Dr Christopher Chitiyo.
The bursaries opened a path for a generation whose contribution would help shape Zimbabwe’s medical profession and public life, Ndlovu observed.
For Dr Zwana, the path led from mission schools at Tekwane, Kutama and Goromonzi to medical training in Durban, South Africa, and ultimately to a career marked by several milestones.
“His decision to specialise in anaesthesia reflected a commitment to patient care in a field where success often goes unnoticed. Anaesthetists are central to the safety and wellbeing of patients undergoing surgery. Dr Zwana’s career represented a philosophy of service, a commitment to care that does not seek recognition but ensures that patients and families are protected at their most vulnerable moments,” Ndlovu said.
He added that the values embodied by Dr Zwana’s work aligned with Cimas’ role in supporting members and communities through healthcare financing, diagnostics, treatment and wellness services.
“The naming of the centre was therefore intended to embed Dr Zwana’s legacy in the daily life of the institution, ensuring that patients, staff and future medical practitioners encountered a reminder of his service and pioneering achievements,” he said.
New Ziana
