Maravi

RB prioritises eye care on his health delivery agenda

RB prioritises eye care on his health delivery agenda
By Kabanda Chulu in Kitwe
Sun 17 Apr. 2011, 09:50 CAT

PRESIDENT Rupiah Banda says government will soon integrate eye care services as part of the health delivery system in the country because of its importance to humanity.

And Chinese-African People’s friendship Association president Abulaiti Abudurexiti has said 10 Chinese enterprises operating in Africa have established the ‘charity fund to Africa’ aimed at providing free cataract surgeries to poor patients in the continent.

Officiating at the Chinese brightness mission 2011 in Zambia which is expected to treat about 100,000 eye patients at Sino-Zam hospital in Kitwe yesterday,President Banda said the Chinese intervention would contribute to Zambia becoming an eye-diseases free country.

“This intervention gives us the confidence towards meeting the vision 2020 set by the World Health Organisation to achieve prevention of blindness.

As government, we are determined to attain these targets and from 2003 we have been working toward reducing blindness in Central, Lusaka and Southern Provinces and will soon roll out to other regions around the country and in partnership with Standard Chartered Bank many patients will be treated from Livingstone to the Copperbelt with newly launched mobile hospitals playing a major role in this aspect,” President Banda said.

“Going forward, we shall engage cooperating partners to see how eye care can be fully integrated as part of health delivery system because this is important to human beings and we shall re-align our budgets to cater for this important aspect of health care services.”

He said government was also working with Sight Savers International in training nurses at Chainama Hospital in eye care delivery and so far 25 have graduated locally while 50 will be trained abroad.

“We are also addressing poor conditions of service for paramedics and other health workers since they drive this nation forward with their sacrifice and humility and we shall soon build an Optical Training workshop at Chainama and we have purchased K2 billion worth of equipment to be installed at the eye clinic being constructed at the UTH,” said President Banda.

And Abulaiti said the Chinese brightness mission 2011 in Zambia would open a new chapter in the history of people to people diplomacy between China and Zambia.

“The Chinese people and their enterprises are ready to do their best to bring more benevolence to every corner of Africa,” he said.

Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS, HEALTHCARE, RUPIAH BANDA

posted by MrK @ 2:48 PM