Chinese firm donates medical equipment to Zambia

LUSAKA -- A Chinese company on Friday donatedan assortment of medical equipment to the Zambian government aimed at helpingit improve health care delivery.

The medical equipment as well as devicesand medical disposables, valued at $22,847.71, was donated to theVice-President's Office during a ceremony held at her office in Lusaka, theZambian capital.

Jun Zhang, chairman of OK InvestmentsZambia Limited, said during the ceremony that his company has donated theequipment as well as devices and medical disposables in order to help local healthfacilities improve health service delivery to the local people.

Despite the company being small, Zhang saidthe philosophy was to embark on charity work as part of its social corporateresponsibility in order to further promote brotherly friendship between Zambiaand China.

"We hope sincerely that these donatedmedical equipment and device and medical disposables this time will facilitatethe work of the vice-president to improve medical service conditions and bringbeneficial to local patients as well," he said.

Pan Qingjiang, Charge d'Affairs at theChinese Embassy in Zambia said during the same occasion that it was encouragingthat Chinese companies operating in Zambia were involved in ploughing back tothe communities where they are operating from.

He hoped that the cooperation andfriendship between the two countries will further be cemented by gestures ofChinese firms in fulfilling their social corporate responsibilities.

The Chinese envoy has since urged otherChinese companies operating in Zambia to ensure that they get involved invarious social corporate responsibilities as a way of ploughing back to thecommunities they operate from.

On her part, Zambian Vice-President InongeWina said the donation will go a long way in improving health care delivery invarious health facilities.

"I am excited to receive this donationand this will go a long way in supplementing government efforts in theprovision of health care," she said.

She further thanked the Chinese Embassy inZambia for encouraging Chinese firms to engage in various social corporateresponsibilities, adding that the donated equipment such as gynecology andobstetrics equipment was in short supply in most health facilities in thecountry.

Among the medical equipment and devices aswell as disposables included 15 items of medical equipment and 21 units ofdevices as well as 16 items of medical disposables