APA-Walvis Bay (Namibia) Namibia and China have unveiled a hospital-pairing programme under which Walvis Bay Hospital would cooperate with the Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the provision of healthcare services.
The China-Namibia paired hospital cooperation mechanism was launched on Wednesday at Walvis Bay Hospital in the port town of Walvis Bay, about 395 kilometres from the capital Windhoek.
Namibia’s Chief Medical Officer for the Erongo Health Directorate Leonard Kabongo said the collaboration between the two hospitals would bolster the provision of high-quality healthcare services in the southwestern African nation.
Head of the Health Commission of Zhejiang Province, Wang Renyuan, said the collaboration would “advance the high-quality development of cooperation between China and Namibia.”
The Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine donated medical equipment valued at N$1.07 million (about US$55,000). The donated items include essential medical equipment like ventilators, patient monitors, defibrillation monitors, baby incubators, portable suctions, a telemedicine collaboration platform, and a cloud imaging system.
The initiative also seeks to install a CT scan at Walvis Bay Hospital during the first quarter of 2024.
According to Kabongo, the Walvis Bay Hospital had long been without a CT scan and patients had been referred to hospitals in Windhoek.
There are also plans to set up a telemedicine facility at Walvis Bay Hospital to facilitate collaboration between the two hospitals.
Wei Jinming, counsellor for Economic and Commercial Affairs of the Chinese Embassy in Namibia, lauded the cooperation, saying it was timely as it happened during a time that China is commemorating 60 years since it first dispatched medical teams to Africa.
JN/APA