U$D900, 000 INVESTED IN OXYGEN PLANT AT MANSA GENERAL HOSPITAL

By MacPherson Mukuka in Mansa- *Luapula Province*

 

One of the Tanks for the Oxygen Plant recently procured

part of the oxygen plant equipment

Machinery in the ICU to be connected to the plant

 

 

GOVERNMENT has allocated over 2 Hundred Million Kwacha towards the upgrading of urban roads in Mansa District of Luapula Province.

 

Mansa Central Member of Parliament CHITALU CHILUFYA says the upgrading of the roads which is under the pave Zambia road project will commence this week.

 

He says China Civil and China Henan have been given 21 kilometers of Mansa District roads to work on.

 

He says in the next three to four months, the face of Mansa is going to change as a result of President Edgar Lungu’s commitment in providing road infrastructure closer to the people.

 

Dr. CHILUFYA said this when he inspected the progress of the paving of Mansa General Hospital grounds by the road development agency RDA.

 

And Dr. CHILUFYA has also disclosed that government will soon begin grading roads to ease people and vehicle movement from one place to another.

 

The Mansa Central law maker further says during the 2 year period in which the roads will be upgraded, youths employment will be created adding that so far 40 youths at the general hospital have been employed to pave the hospital grounds.

 

Meanwhile, Dr. CHILUFYA who inspected  the oxygen plant and the first ever state of art ICU at Mansa General Hospital says government has embarked on a programme to modernize hospital in the country.

 

He says government has invested 9 hundred US dollars in the procurement of the plant to be installed beginning this week.

 

He says the plant will reduce the cost of procuring oxygen from suppliers in Lusaka and Ndola.

Dr. CHILUFYA also says the plant will be supplying oxygen to other hospitals in the province.

GOVERNMENT SADDENED OVER INCREASE IN MALARIA CASES

By MacPherson Mukuka in KATETE- *Eastern Province*

Health Deputy Minister Dr. Chitalu Chilufya

GOVERNMENT has expressed sadness over the number of deaths  the Country has continued to record due to Malaria.

 

Health Deputy Minister of CHITALU CHILUFYA says Zambia has recorded an increment of Malaria incidences from 330/1000 cases in 2010 to 335/1000 cases in 2015.

 

Dr Chilufya however says that it is gratifying that Malaria deaths have reduced from 6,684 to 2,400 in the period 2010 t0 2015.

 He said this on the occasion of World Malaria Day in Katete district, Eastern Province.

Dr Chilufya further says that some districts are now achieving incidence rates below hundred which he says is encouraging.

 

He says the development calls for all Zambians to do more and employ innovative tools, if the country is to get to zero Malaria deaths .

 

He says the national Malaria elimination strategy highlights additional interventions that will be applied based on the evidence and diseases burden.

 

Dr Chilufya says this will mean that the unit of decision making in terms of intervention will be at the health facility catchment area.

 

He has added that Government wants to pinpoint and ensure that the component of contact tracing is enhanced even for malaria.

 

Dr Chilufya says the Patriotic Front Government has achieved a lot in the fight against Malaria under the leadership of President Edgar Lungu such as the establishment of dedicated budget line for procurement  of ant- Malaria commodities.

 

And World Health Organization Regional Director for Africa Jacob Mufunda says it is commendable that progress has been made in the cases of Malaria but Malaria remains a major public health and development challenge in Africa.

 

Dr Mufunda says more has to be done to achieve the vision of ending Malaria in the region which has been enhanced by the exciting global solidarity for a Malaria free world.  

 He said the sustainable Development Goals have enhanced further the fight against Malaria and end it by the year 2030.

 

Dr Mufunda says it is possible to have a Malaria free Africa through strong coordination and implementation of clear strategies and actions such as deployment of effective financing mechanism .

He has employed Countries to implement concrete mult-sectoral actions and allocate adequate resources to end Malaria.  

 Meanwhile, a traditional leader in Katete has thanked Government for an ensuring that health services closer to the people.

 

Chief M'bang'ombe was however quick to mention that the people in the area have for a long time been waiting for government open the health posts allocated to the district.

 

He says the delay to operationalize the health posts will hinder progress in combating malaria in the district.

 

Katete has been awarded as the best performing district in the country in the fight and elimination of the disease.

CHAMA DISTRICT HOSPITAL GOBBLES 23 MILLION KWAHCA

By MacPherson Mukuka in Chama* Muchinga Province*

Chama District Hospital Admission wing

Hospital ward block

Government has completed the construction of CHAMA District Hospital at a cost of about 23 Million Kwacha.

And Government says it will continue taking health care services closer to the people through the construction of modern health facilities across the country.

Health Deputy Minister CHITALU CHILUFYA says government has built the facility to enhance provision of health care services to Chama residents.

Dr. CHILUFYA says the facility is fully furnished and human resource personnel will be deployed to the hospital before its commissioning.

He says President EDGAR LUNGU is expected in the district to commission the health facility adding that once in operation, the hospital will offer medical care services to over 1 hundred thousand residents in the district.

And Chama District Medical Officer ANTHONY KAMANZ says the new hospital will supplement the provision of maternal health services among others in the District.

He says the district has had challenges in provision of maternal health care services due to lack of modern equipment.

He has disclosed that the old hospital made an improvised theatre where it carried its surgical procedures but now things have changed with the provision of a state of the art modern theater at the new hospital.   

And the Maternal health section at the Hospital has also expressed happiness at the development. Maternal health Sister in charge JESSY CHOMBA says mother will now have an opportunity to be treated using modern facilities.

Meanwhile, Chama District Commissioner JOSPHAT LOMBE says security at the hospital has been provided through the members of the community as they await the fencing of the facility.

UKAID-FUNDED B2B WEB PORTAL SET TO PROPEL SMES FORWARD

By MacPherson Mukuka *in Lusaka*

Corporations In Zambia Endorse New Local Procurement Initiative

Top representatives from some of Zambia’s leading multi-national companies have placed a stamp of approval on an imminent online platform that links small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to multinational and national corporations under the Private Enterprise Programme - Zambia’s Business Linkages Component.

 Representatives from Chibuluma mines, First Quantum Mineral (FQM), Shoprite Zambia, , SABMiller Zambia, Saro, Spar, Total Zambia Woolworths, and Zambeef  met at Lusaka’s Intercontinental hotel to hear the progress made on the development of the business-to-business website appropriately dubbed, “zamb2b”.

“zamb2b falls within the framework of the Business Linkages Programme whose goal is to facilitate corporations doing business in Zambia to actively engage in local sourcing, matchmaking and supplier development. The programme puts in place practical solutions to information flow failures that hinder linkages between the corporations and local SMEs, and zamb2b is one of those solutions,” said Business Linkages Programme Manager, Donia Benmiloud.

 The CEO of the IT company Digital Africa, Chiphazi Banda said: “We designed the online portal in such a way that it will provide sector-specific information to both small-scale businesses that seek to supply their products and services to large multinational firms, which seek to procure quality local products without necessarily dropping their standards.”

Greater business linkages between large firms that dominate the economy and local suppliers can help to link lead industries to sectors in which the poor are employed, harness the purchasing power of large businesses to develop the “missing middle” of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and transfer technology to enable potentially transformative enterprises to fulfil their potential. Greater linkages would contribute to broader, more inclusive growth and address the chronic deficit of jobs in the country.
Source: Langmead and Baker

Members of the Private Enterprise Programme - Zambia (PEPZ)  Business Linkages Programme steering committee of leading company representatives examine the new zambiab2b web portal for SME suppliers