PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema on Saturday commissioned the refurbished radiotherapy and imaging section of the Cancer Diseases Hospital, which had been closed since 2020. The President said the five-year closure forced government to spend millions sending 600 patients abroad for treatment while thousands more waited. The upgraded facility will now treat up to 60 patients per

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PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema on Saturday commissioned the refurbished radiotherapy and imaging section of the Cancer Diseases Hospital, which had been closed since 2020.

The President said the five-year closure forced government to spend millions sending 600 patients abroad for treatment while thousands more waited.

The upgraded facility will now treat up to 60 patients per day locally. Funds previously used for airfares and foreign hospitals will instead be invested in Zambian doctors, nurses and patients.

The first patient treated was Madam Mauleya Zimba, 62, living with cervical cancer.

Hichilema said government is building Zambia into a regional centre of excellence in cancer care. The facility is now one of only three of its kind on the continent, alongside those in South Africa and Egypt.

“A healthy nation is a wealthy nation,” he said.

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