FIRST LADY DONATES TO NTH
By NATION REPORTER FIRST Lady Esther Lungu has commissioned two water boreholes and plumbing works worth approximately K300, 000 at the Ndola Teaching Hospital (NTH). ZCCM - Investment Holdings (ZCCM-IH) financed the project through the Esther Lungu Foundation.
In addition, ZCCM-IH in partnership with Health Hope Zambia provided assorted medical equipment.
Ms Lungu said the Esther Lungu Foundation believed that access to clean and safe drinking water immensely contributed to improved living standards.
She noted that NTH had been grappling with water challenges, hence the intervention by ZCCM-IH would positively impact the entire hospital.
The First Lady said clean and safe water also improved the health of mothers, infants and children consequently reducing the maternal neonatal mortality rates. “There is also a visible correlation between improvement of girl’s education and access to safe clean water as well as the empowerment of women. This is because women and girls travel long distances to fetch water and end up using a lot of hours in a day on this activity,” she said.
On the medical equipment and supplies worth US$400, 000, Ms Lungu said ZCCMIH contributed approximately US$80,000. The items donated were 20 general patient beds, one operating theatre table, one medical operating microscope, 20 baby cribs for neonatal intensive care unit and 10 toddler cribs to be placed at Arthur Davidson Children’s Hospital.
Others were one maternity bed, two computer theatre operating systems, three emergency beds, three infant incubators, four reclining medical chairs and two observation waiting stands.
And ZCCM-IH Chief Executive Officer Pius Kasolo said the company’s in partnership with Health Hope Zambia had delivered equipment to strengthen the provision of health services. Dr Kasolo said ZCCM had positioned its social investment at the core of its business in communities where the assets were located.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Permanent Secretary Jabin Mulwanda thanked ZCCM and Health Hope Zambia for donating boreholes and other equipment to the health sector.
Dr Mulwanda said the availability of steady water supply would curb the cancellation of some operations.