Cimas Health Group enabled 80 underprivileged children to experience the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF), an experience they would otherwise be unlikely ever to have had. Cimas paid for their transport, accommodation, entry into the trade fair and meals.
Twenty of the children came from Ndlovu Primary School in Matabeleland North Province and 20 from Jotsholo Secondary School in the same province.
Forty children came from various schools in Wedza, in Mashonaland East. There were 11 from Mukondwa Primary School, six from Maruta Primary School, 11 from Matsine Secondary School, three from Wedza High School, one from Mount St Mary's, six from Wedza Primary School and two from Destiny Kids School.
The children were accompanied by eight teachers. None of them had ever been to the trade fair before or even to Bulawayo. They were fascinated by this new experience that enabled them to see impressive displays and stands and opened their eyes to career possibilities they might otherwise never have dreamed of.
A Form Four girl commented that seeing women doing great things at the fair had enabled her to realise that it was possible even for girls to do great things.
Addressing the ZITF International Business Conference, which Cimas co-sponsored, Cimas chief executive Vuli Ndlovu said he had first attended the trade fair at the age of six and that the exposure the ZITF gave him to commerce and industry had given him an advantage in his studies.
He said inspired by his own experience Cimas had invited the 80 children from rural schools to attend the fair at Cimas Health Group's expense.
"We hope that this will have some impact on their lives and will motivate them to pursue careers that they never believed could be possible for them," he said, adding that Cimas was inviting the business community to join in this initiative in future.
Mr Ndlovu also told the International Business Conference that Cimas believed healthcare services had the potential to contribute to the country's economy.
He said that last year the Cimas Health Group had invested five million United States dollars in healthcare infrastructure. This year it expected to invest eight million US dollars.
"We see this trend continuing for the foreseeable future. Most of the money is invested in physical infrastructure and technology," he said.
"The ultimate goal is to ensure that the country can have state-of-the-art healthcare infrastructure that can contribute to improved healthcare outcomes and attract inward medical tourism. We have great skills in the country that can make this a reality," he said.
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He said Cimas welcomed government's efforts in promoting Public Private Partnerships and looked forward to partnering government in some of these initiatives. Mental health, he said, was an area of interest for Cimas.
"One of the important issues in health is health equity, i.e. ensuring that everyone is able to attain the best level of health," he said.
He said Cimas knew that government would like to see an improvement in the level of medical aid coverage to include everyone, not just the 10 percent currently covered.
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"We would like to be part of a solution, working with government and other stakeholders, to increase medical aid coverage. There are some promising leads that this could be reality and one of the enablers for this is technology," he said.
Technology was, he said, a game changer in improving access to healthcare, lowering costs and improving health outcomes.
"Now, with online platforms, mental health coaching is proving to be quite impactful in reaching wider services," he said.
The Cimas Health Group's sponsorship of rural children's visit to the trade fair and of the ZITF International Business Conference, which was addressed by its chief executive, is part of its corporate social responsibility initiatives and in line with its purpose of inspiring healthier communities by providing global standard health and wellness solutions.
