Author: HECKTON CHUWA
AfricaPress-Tanzania: TANZANIANS living in the United States, together with their friends have donated personal protective equipment (PPEs) worth more than 70m/-, which will be distributed to health facilities in several regions in the country.
This was revealed by Tanzania Diaspora representative Mrisho Mzese during the handover of the PPEs to the Kilimanjaro regional authorities in Moshi at the weekend.
According to him, Kilimanjaro Region’s donations were part of the second phase of the donations which also involved Mbeya Region.
“In the first phase, the donations of the PPEs involved the region of Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar and Coast Region,” he added.
Mr Mzese continued saying the PPEs donated in Kilimanjaro Region of which were worth 11,060,000/- included one oxygen concentrator, 55 pieces of FFP2 respiratory masks, 2,750 surgical masks and six pulse oximeters.
“The donations were made by the Tanzania Diaspora and Friends Group, who donated funds to secure them under the Dhibiti Mlipuko: Covid-19 Tanzania Fund Raising Campaign,” he said, adding that the handover occasion was a gesture of thanks by Tanzanian Diaspora to health workers who served their fellow Tanzanians.
“The aim of the campaign was to procure and donate the PPEs to be used by frontline health workers in Tanzania, who during the Covid-19 pandemic devoted their time to save and protect the lives of people by risking theirs,” he said.
In his speech after receiving the donations on behalf of the Kilimanjaro Regional Commissioner, Siha District Commissioner (DC) Onesmo Buswelu thanked the Tanzanians in Diaspora for their donations.
He said they had complimented the government’s efforts to strengthen the health sector.
“The donations will help improve health services in in the region. May I take this opportunity to assure you that they will be used as intended,” he noted.
Mr Buswelu urged Tanzanians living in the diaspora to continue donating various goods home to boost the country’s wellbeing graph that continued growing every year.
“You are now our vociferous standard bearers. Go and tell your colleagues in the diaspora that things back home are going on well and this was proved by the World Bank’s announcement recently, that Tanzania is now a lower middle-income economy. Tell them that their contributions back home will continue strengthening what we have already achieved,” he said.
For his part, the Kilimanjaro Regional Medical Officer (RMO), Dr Credianus Mgimba, said the donations were well timed and they would bridge the gap caused by equipment shortages.
“There is still some shortages of equipment at our health facilities. May I take this opportunity to appeal to all Tanzanians both in the Diaspora as well as Tanzanians living in the country to continue donating medical equipment to strengthen health services,” he noted.
