Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa on Thursday opened a 10 million dollar specialist cancer hospital which will enable patients to receive treatment at home for the first time.
Mwanawasa said the National Cancer Diseases Hospital (NCDH) was built following a growth in the number of cancer patients in Zambia who have previously had to be treated abroad at a cost to the state of an average 10,000 dollars per person."Treatment at the hospital will be on a cost-sharing basis between patient and the government," Mwanawasa said at the opening in the capital Lusaka.
The ultra-modern hospital was built with the financial from several international donors while the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Oil Producing and Exporting Countries will offer radiotherapy for cancer treatment.
Health Minister Brian Chituwo said the hospital would also cater for patients from other African countries.
Source-AFP
SRM/M
