Econet Lesotho signs agreement to strengthen healthcare
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on The Reporter (Lesotho)
Econet Telecom Lesotho has signed an agreement with St. Joseph’s Hospital to support health services through medical interns and resident doctors funded by the Higherlife Foundation. The partnership accompanies a donation of medical equipment worth about 400,000 maloti to the Loretto maternity ward, according to The Reporter.
Econet Telecom Lesotho (ETL), a telecoms operator in Lesotho, has signed a memorandum of understanding with St. Joseph’s Hospital to support public health services with medical interns and resident doctors funded by the Higherlife Foundation, The Reporter reports. The agreement was signed on Tuesday during the handover of medical equipment to Loretto Health Centre in Qoaling.
The equipment, worth about 400,000 maloti, includes two delivery beds, an ultrasound scanner, two vital signs monitors, an oxygen concentrator and an emergency stretcher. Sister Manaleli Moremoholo, head of nurses at Loretto centre, said the facility serves an estimated population of 47,000 people, with about 1,000 pregnancies expected, and faces shortages of equipment and staff, according to The Reporter.
The agreement is intended to complement the equipment donation by strengthening the human resources available for healthcare. Dennis Plaatjies, ETL’s chief executive, said the company wanted to combine medical equipment and expertise to strengthen health services for Basotho, according to The Reporter.
