Banaadir Hospital gets major upgrade from Chinese government

GOOBJOOG NEWS|MOGADISHU: Banaadir Hospital in Mogadishu, one of the foremost public hospitals in the country will now be able to handle more surgeries at advanced level thanks to an upgrade by the Chinese government.

The hospital built by the Chinese government in the 1970s has stood as the only main public hospital in Somalia attending to Somalis from across the country over the years. During the launch of the newly revamped facility, Chinese ambassador to Somalia Fei Shangchao said the renovation of the hospital was part of his country’s efforts in deepening ties with Somalia.

The renovation and upgrade covered the entire operation theater, including 3 major surgery rooms, 4 manual operation beds, operating lamps and other equipment. With the resumption of cesarean capabilities in February this year, the hospital has received more than 200 pregnant mothers, and has continued to offer a silver lining to the cloud of deteriorating drought and Covid-19 pandemic for women and children in this country.

“Hopefully this will serve as another step forward in restoring and enhancing the capacity of the hospital,’ ambassador Shangchao said. “The road may be long and tortuous. But as long as we put people first and put lives first, we shall reach our goal of better serving women and children in Somalia, the greatest promise of a historical and youthful country.”

He added that the upgrade of the hospital ‘demonstrates the spirit of China-Africa friendship and cooperation, and makes a good start for China-Somalia health cooperation in 2022.’