Mandela Day: South Africans donate medical equipment

The equipment destined for newborn babies and mothers was handed to the Djoungolo, Olembe District Hospital.

The Djoungolo, Olembe District Hospital in Yaounde is the beneficiary of the South African High Commission in Cameroon’s special gifts during the celebration of Nelson Mandela International Day 2015. The event decided by the United Nations General Assembly in 2009 is generally celebrated on every July 18 and coincides with the birthday of the South African peace and justice crusader and former President, Nelson Mandela.

The South African High Commission in Yaounde decided to celebrate the event instead on Thursday, July 16, 2015, two days ahead of the internationally chosen day for the event. Justifying the choice of the hospital for the celebration of the event, the South African High Commissioner to Cameroon, Zanele Makina said they were highlighting and trying to eternalize the legacy of Nelson Mandela who had concern, cared for and suffered for humanity. She said that Nelson Mandela made key sacrifices for other human beings.

What remains indelibly engraved in the 2015 celebration in Cameroon is therefore the calibre of medical equipment offered to the Djoungolo, Olembe District Hospital in the presence of Cameroon’s Minister of Public Health, André Mama Fouda. Zanele Makina said both the small and large equipment were identified as the pressing needs of the hospital, stating that they will help in improving mother and child healthcare.

The major ones include Neonate Bilirubin phototherapy equipment, bathroom scales for mothers, tongue depressors, syringes, blood pressure and weighing equipment, as well as toothpaste and toothbrushes for mothers.

Hospital staff, mothers of newborn babies, patients and the local population were overwhelmed with the gifts, some of which were handed directly to the concerned during the guided visit to the various wards by the High Commissioner Zanele Makina, accompanied by Minister André Mama Fouda, as well as some local administrative and traditional authorities.

The Director of the hospital, Dr Yakana Elysée, who took the visiting dignitaries round the different wards, said the equipment offered came to bailout the health structure from some pressing needs.