Cimas renames Van Praagh Medical Centre after Zimbabwe’s first Black female doctor

Cimas Health Group has renamed its Van Praagh Medical Centre in Milton Park, Harare, in honour of Dr Madeline Nyamwanza-Makonese, Zimbabwe’s first Black female medical doctor.

The facility is now the second medical centre in the country to be named after a woman. The renaming was marked at a ceremony on Friday.

Dr Nyamwanza-Makonese qualified in 1970 after graduating from the University of Rhodesia’s medical school, where she was the only woman in a class of 25.

Her achievement came during colonial rule, when opportunities for Black women to pursue higher education, particularly in medicine, were severely restricted.

At a time when entering the medical profession was a distant prospect for many Black children, and even more so for girls, she became the first Black Zimbabwean woman to qualify as a doctor, breaking both gender and racial barriers.

Speaking at the ceremony, her husband, Eben Makonese, who has been married to her for more than five decades, described her dedication to her patients.

He recalled how, after she left government service and the City of Harare to open her own private practice, she prepared for work on Christmas morning as if it were any other day. When he reminded her it was Christmas, she told him she wanted to drive to her surgery in case someone was waiting for medical attention.

She completed a 60-kilometre round trip to the surgery, about 30 kilometres away, and returned home later that day.

Makonese said he had initially thought it was an absent-minded moment, and questioned whether the journey was worthwhile at a time when consultations cost $1 for children and $5 for adults. He said her commitment to patients had always been matched by dedication at home.

Cimas Health Group chief executive Vuli Ndlovu said the group’s service was defined by the people who work in its facilities, not the buildings themselves.

He said honouring Dr Nyamwanza-Makonese was a testament to the quality of work offered by health professionals at Cimas, and reflected the standards associated with the woman whose name is now engraved on the entrance plaque of the Harare centre.

“The facility is more than brick, mortar and advanced medical equipment. To us, it is a representation of the values, compassion and unwavering dedication that Madeline has embodied throughout her career and life,” Ndlovu said

More: Health Times