LUSAKA - A Chinese medical team working in Zambia donated three sets of telemedicine equipment aimed at improving healthcare services in Zambian hospitals.

The Chinese medical team donated the sets of telemedicine equipment, to be installed at public hospitals, after the success of the first equipment donated to one hospital - the Levy Mwanawasa Hospital in Lusaka, the country's capital.

Team Leader Dr Guo Jianjun said after the donations of the equipment at the Ministry of Health that the equipment would be installed at the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka, Livingstone Hospital in the southern part of the country and Ndola Hospital in the copperbelt province.

Guo said: "We established the first telemedicine center at the Levy Mwanawasa Hospital last year, which has really worked very well because it has improved collaboration between doctors in China and here in Zambia."

According to Guo, the system has helped improve healthcare delivery as doctors from China and Zambia were able to work on complicated cases together through telecasts, adding that the establishment of the equipment in all four hospitals in Zambia will also help improve interaction among local health personnel.

The system, he said, has also helped in imparting new medical techniques to Zambian doctors, as well as developing an academic exchange system between the two countries.

Dr Jabin Mulwanda, permanent secretary in Zambia's Ministry of Health, said while receiving the equipment, that Zambia will forever be grateful to China for its support in various sectors, including the health sector.

China, he said, has supported Zambia in infrastructure development, training of health personnel and donation of equipment.

The donated equipment will help Zambia modernize its healthcare delivery system, he added.

The medical team came to Zambia in April last year and the team leader said a lot has been achieved in this period to help improve healthcare delivery.

As of February this year, the team had conducted 1,216 operations in the four hospitals.

Xinhua