Govt receives Sh1.5 billion worth dialysis equipment donation from Saudi Arabia
Deputy minister of Health, Community development, Gender, Elderly and Children, Dr Faustine Ndugulile
Dar es Salaam. The government has received 62 dialysis machines worth Sh 1.5 billion, a donation from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.The machines will be used at local hospitals and this is expected to cut cost that would be incurred by patients seeking treatment abroad.
Used to filter a patient's blood to remove excess water and waste products when the kidneys are damaged, dysfunctional, or missing, the machines are set to also help the government in her efforts to curb Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in the country.
Speaking during the handing over of the machines on Monday June 17, 2019 in Dar es Salaam, the deputy minister of Health, Community development, Gender, Elderly and Children, Dr Faustine Ndugulile said that the machines came at a time when the ministry was planning strategies to mitigate NCDs.
“We are soon going to launch the national campaign to mitigate NCDs in the country. Through these kind of campaigns, we have in five (5) years reduced the spread of malaria by 50 per cent and its time to apply the same strategies to NCDs,” he said.
Dr Ndugulile said that the dialysis machines were mostly available in Dar es Salaam, making many patients to have to travel from up country to come and get such a medical service.
“Out of the 275 machines that are available in the country, 42 were at Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH).Others were in other regions with big referral hospitals such as Mwanza and Mbeya. We are going to strategically divide these machines to other regions to reduce the number of patients who travel to Dar, in seeking of such a treatment,” he said.
For his part, the deputy ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Tanzania, Ahmed Bin Saleh Alghamdi said that his government will continue helping Tanzania government in improving the health of her people.
“Our government is pleased with the bilateral relationship that we share with Tanzania, we want to continue sharing to improve the lives of people in the developing world including Tanzania. This is part of our goal,” he said.
