TCM to offer first aid training… as acupuncture ga...

TCM to offer first aid training… as acupuncture gains traction

Patience Muchemwa

Zim Now Reporter

The China-Zimbabwe Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture Center at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals in Harare has installed a first aid training facility and will soon offer the service to various institutions and individuals.

This was revealed by Dr Hu Sha, a specialist at the center and member of the 21st Chinese Medical Team in Zimbabwe.

Dr Sha was addressing journalists during a joint media tour of People’s Daily staff and Zimbabwean journalists from Zim Now, The Herald and Daily News.

Access to efficient medical services is one of the biggest pain points for many Zimbabweans who are excluded by high costs.

The TCM centre has stepped in to bridge that gap by offering free service of the traditional Chinese remedy which works through insertion of special single use needles directly into the body.

Established in 2020, the centre has helped thousands of Zimbabweans who have struggled with different ailments. The centre which is manned by Chinese specialists is fully funded by the government of China.

On the day of the media tour people from all walks of life including a former cabinet minister had come to access the free services.

Young Nokutenda is just one of the beautiful success stories of the centre.

Diagnosed with cerebral palsy at one year, Nokutenda could not sit up until her mother heard of TCM and took her daughter there in January 2024.

Now Nokutenda can sit up, play with toys and interact with people around her.

With her mother’s permission, the media team where in the room during Dr Hu Sha’s session with Nokutenda.

After the initial discomfort when the needles are inserted, Nokutenda was soon sharing her angelic smile and communicating in her own special way with the journalists.

“After just a few acupuncture sessions, there is so much change. The Centre is amazing and its doctors are miracle workers. I don’t know how to thank them,” said Nokutenda’s mother.

The centre’s reputation has spread across the country as the team travels to outlying areas such as Hwange and Buhera.

In April 2024 a group of 12 patients from Bulawayo with varying ailments travelled to seek service at the centre.

The 21st Medical Team was at the 2024 Zimbabwe International Trade Fair in Bulawayo.

To transfer skills and avail the service to more people, in 2022 the centre also offered a one year training service in acupuncture to ten young Zimbabwean students.

Richard Mutingwend, running his own private practice in Harare is one of the nine Zimbabwean acupuncturists who have since gone on to set up their own institutions.

22-year-old Munashe Mugoneka has chosen to remain at the TCM.

He expressed gratitude to the Zimbabwean and Chinese governments for providing this incredible opportunity.

Now armed with the skills of this ancient healing art, Mugoneka says is determined to alleviate the suffering of those who need it, using acupuncture's affordable and effective treatments to make a positive impact on the health of his fellow citizens.

Multiple beauty pageant title holder Charlotte Muziri has been volunteering at the centre for a while. The elegant model said she decided to assist after she witnessed what the centre was doing when someone close to her was assisted there.

She helps patients fill in their forms and offers care services to those in need to get ready for the acupuncturists and after treatment.

"Since last year, I can safely say we had over 3000 or 4000 patients come here, and we had so many testimonies, some of the patients they don't come anymore become they are now feeling better and new patients are coming,” said Muziri who says seeing people getting better is the biggest reward for the time and energy she puts in so unstintingly.

"We have more than 10 kids who are coming for acupuncture, I am very happy with the progress. I wish more people could know about this Centre and the benefits that it is giving to the community."

Dr Hu Sha who was part of the 20th Chinese Medical Team and opted to remain in Zimbabwe after her first tour of duty, says knowing that one is making a difference is the greatest gift of all.

“As an international volunteer Chinese medicine doctor, the greatest sense of achievement comes from the patients, from the efficacy, from the confidence of Chinese medicine; I was moved by their trust and recognition of TCM acupuncture, and also felt gratified and proud that TCM acupuncture could help the Zimbabwean people to solve their ailments,” Dr Hu Sha said to Zim Now in an earlier interview.