TANZANIA: TEC Provides Corona Protective Equipment to Catholic Hospitals
Sarah Pelaji, Dar es Salaam
Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC), has provided Coronavirus protective equipment to Catholic-owned hospitals in the country.
Presenting these materials recently to some Catholic Bishops in Dar es Salaam, Director of Finance and Administration Erick Mwelulila said that TEC has felt the need to empower Catholic owned hospitals in order to manage emergence diseases including Covid-19 and other disasters.
“We thank the Italian Catholic Bishops (CEI) for their willingness to cooperate with the Catholic Church in Tanzania in the fight against emergencies and to assist communities in providing quality care.
Since the beginning of Coronavirus pandemic, the Catholic Church has been at the forefront of educating the community on the disease and providing various assistance including Personal Protective Equipment’s (PPEs) in some parishes, communities now hospitals.
We thank the various development partners who have been supporting us in many ways to assist the TEC to save our community from this tragedy, ”he said.
The equipment includes Oxygen Concentrators for patients with respiratory problems; temperature gauges; gloves; various diagnostics; masks; and sanitizers.
The hospitals that received the equipment were Bugando Referral Hospital in Mwanza Archdiocese (north western part of Tanzania), St. Francis Referral Hospital located in Ifakara Dioceses (south central Tanzania), Makiungu District Hospital in Singida Diocese (East Central of Tanzania) and Tosamaganga District Hospital (southern Highlands of Tanzania).
Receiving the equipment, the local Ordinaries of the dioceses where those hospitals are located have thanked TEC and CEI for their support and efforts to assist communities in the fight against emergencies.
“I am happy to see TEC struggling to save the community from this tragedy. I thank the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI) for helping TEC to enable our hospitals with these expensive facilities.
I am very grateful that we continue to pray that Covid-19 virus is completely eradicated locally and globally,” said Bishop Tarcisius Ngalalekum of Iringa Catholic Diocese on behalf of Tosamaganga District Hospital.
Archbishop of Mwanza Archdiocese and the Chairman of Health Department at the Conference Most. Rev. Renatus Nkwande has also thanked CEI for partnering with TEC to enable these hospitals fight emergency illnesses especially the Coronavirus pandemic.
