Sudan, China launch healthcare network project

KHARTOUM - Sudanese Ministry of Health, China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA) and the Sudanese Al-Birr and Tawasul Charity Organization (BTO) on Wednesday celebrated the launch of maternal and infant healthcare network project, based at Abuousher Friendship Hospital in central Sudan's Gezira State.

The launching ceremony, held at the premises of the Sudanese Ministry of Health, was attended by the Chinese Ambassador to Sudan Luo Xiaoguang, Sudan's State Minister for Health Al-Khair Al-Noor, BTO's deputy secretary general and members of the CFPA in Sudan.

Sudan's State Minister for Health Al-Khair Al-Noor said at the ceremony that "this work, which started with the maternal and infant healthcare network project at Abuousher, represents a great work in the field of health cooperation between Sudan and China."

"The brothers in China are still supporting Sudan in all fields and this work touches a very important issue in the domain of provision of medical support for the weak categories," he added.

He went on saying that "this work constitutes an example that serves all the health and medical fields."

The Chinese Ambassador to Sudan Luo Xiaoguang, for his part, said that "we reiterate that China will continue in supporting Sudan in all fields. This is a positive and important step for continuation of cooperation between the Sudanese and Chinese organizations, namely at the health and medical fields."

"With this step we prove that Sino-Sudanese cooperation has developed, particularly in the health and medical fields. This proves that our cooperation covers all fields and not only the government fields. This cooperation will develop further in other fields," he added.

The Chinese ambassador further praised the role of Al-Birr and Tawasul organization and Chinese companies which have contributed to the launching of the maternity and infant healthcare network project at Abuousher hospital.

Wu Peng, director of International Development Department of CFPA, meanwhile, said the project tended to build a better healthcare network, transfer the Chinese experience in case-solving and improve midwives service by facility donation and capacity building.

Midwifery kits have been donated by the CFPA during the ceremony and a workshop has been decided to be implemented in the maternity and infant healthcare field.

The China-Sudan maternity and infant healthcare hospital at Abuousher in Sudan's Gezira State is the first cooperation between the CFPA and the Sudanese BTO which operates in field of maternity and infant healthcare.

The hospital capacity is 40 beds and its establishment cost amounted to around $20 million, 80 percent of which was provided by the CFPA while the BTO provided 20 percent.