By Cecilia Chiluba/Zambia/Lusaka
Project C.U.R.E., says the expansion of Zambia’s health infrastructure needs to be supported with modern medical equipment.
Project C.U.R.E. is a United States non-profit organization based in Centennial, Colorado that collects donated medical supplies and equipment and ships them to hospitals and clinics, primarily outside the United States.
Zambia is expected to receive 27 containers of donated medical supplies and equipment valued at US$10 million under an initiative funded by Islamic Relief USA.
Some of the containers have already arrived in the country, with equipment distributed to rural health centres.
Project C.U.R.E. President and Chief Executive Officer Douglas Jackson said Zambia has remained a key partner in the distribution of medical supplies.
“Zambia has seen an increase in rural health centers that needs to be supported with state of the art medical equipment,” he said.
Mr. Jackson was speaking when Zambia’s Ambassador to the United States, Chibamba Kanyama, visited the Project C.U.R.E. headquarters in Denver on Tuesday to highlight the country’s partnership with the organization aimed at strengthening the health system and benefiting more than 20 rural health facilities.
Ambassador Kanyama said the donated supplies not only improve people’s health but also enhance the quality of care by boosting morale among health workers.
He said the availability of such supplies in rural communities gives professional pride to medical caregivers.
“You knock off, you go home, and you even enjoy your food because you have done your work professionally because you have been aided,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Hakainde Hichilema has been strengthening Zambia’s healthcare system by expanding medical facilities and improving service delivery through the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).
His administration has used the fund to build and upgrade clinics, increase bed capacity, and deploy essential medical equipment and ambulances, bringing healthcare services closer to communities that previously lacked adequate access.
The CDF-funded projects are also demonstrating the decentralization of development resources.
According to President Hichilema, the investment forms part of the broader devolution process aimed at empowering local authorities to manage health needs more effectively.
This is contained in a statement issued by First Secretary Press and Public Relations at the Zambian Embassy in Washington, DC, Charles Tembo.
