17 Jun 2013

Princess Marina and Nyangabgwe Referral hospitals have received a batch of medical equipment worth over P128 000 from the 13th Chinese Medical Team.

The donation was made through the Chinese Embassy in Gaborone recently.

Speaking at the hand over of the equipment, Ministry of Health acting deputy permanent secretary (clinical services),  Dr Molelekwa Molelekwa said the equipment, which included urethral endoscope, ureteral dilator, recto-vaginal ultrasound guided transvaginal stent, infusion pump and micro-injection pump,  would enhance the quality of health provision at both hospitals.

Dr Molelekwa said the 13th Chinese Medical Team had worked in the two referral hospitals for about six months and had identified the needs of the hospitals. He said the equipment clearly addressed issues of practical importance to the ministry and was clearly directed towards their prioritised needs.     

Dr Molelekwa pointed out that in addition to their involvement in the daily provision of health care services, the ministry had received various donations of medical equipment from the people of China over the years. “Among many others, we have received a large number of ophthalmic equipment that we continue to use in the care of our patients with eye problems”, he said.

The team also donated equipment for gynaecology and neurosurgery last year, he explained, adding that the equipment had opened doors for conducting new operations and procedures.

Speaking at the event, Chinese Embassy political counsellor, Ms Liang Bizhen said medical and health care had for a long time been one of the top priority areas in China’s assistance to Botswana.

Ms Bizhen noted that based on a request from Botswana, China started to dispatch medical teams to work in the country since 1981 and thus far, 13 Chinese teams with a total of 373 medical personnel had been sent to Botswana to  assist in the provision of clinical services. 

She stressed that for the past 32 years, health professionals from China had worked hand in hand with local health professionals and had used their expertise in the fight against diseases such as HIV and AIDS and malaria among others.

She noted that their medical teams had also shared advanced health techniques and clinical experiences with local health professionals through lectures, case studies, academic exchanges and others.

Ms Bizhen said to further improve the country’s  professional performance and to enable them to carry out some operations, the 13th Chinese Medical Team procured this batch of medical equipment for use at Princess Marina and Nyangabgwe Hospitals in 2012. ENDS