Health minister Mam Bun Heng (second right) and the Czech delegation during the handover ceremony on May 17. KAMPUCHEA THMEY
The Czech Republic has donated nearly $400,000 worth of medical equipment to the National Paediatric Hospital, allowing it to open a maternity ward.
Hospital director Nhip Angkeabos told The Post that the handover ceremony took place on May 17 in the presence of Minister of Health Mam Bun Heng and Czech ambassador to Cambodia Martin Vavra.
Angkeabos said this was the third time the hospital had received medical equipment from the Czech Republic. The latest acquisitions include 124 units with the aim of opening the hospital’s maternity ward and contributing to the welfare of mothers and babies in Cambodia.
He said the first medical equipment donation from the Czechs, worth more than $300,000, was used to launch the paediatric and intensive care units in 2020. Training of doctors and nurses was also provided.
The second donation was 49 units of eight types of training equipment – as well as Covid-19 equipment – with a total value of almost $300,000.
He added that the access to such modern medical equipment makes it easier to administer to patients and improves the quality of the treatment.
“Having this equipment helps both mother and baby in every way. This is the same equipment that foreign nations use, so whatever they have, we also have,” he said.
He said that in addition to medical supplies, the Czech government had trained medical staff at the hospital and provided a specialist doctor in midwife skills to assist them for one year. Cambodian doctors at the hospital had also improved their knowledge, having been trained in the Czech Republic.
He added that in 2023, a total of 20 doctors and midwives would go to study there.
He said that while attending the handover ceremony, Bun Heng expressed his happiness and the hope that these new resources would help the hospital be more confident in providing full maternity health services and baby care for both pregnant and non-pregnant women from birth until delivery.
He added that the medical equipment would be utilised in the care and treatment of various health problems of infants and children, as well as in an active training centre – in line with the vision and development steps of the hospital.
