2 Children’s Theatres at UTH equipped with Solar Power

By Effie Mphande

Two surgical theatres for children at the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka have been equipped with solar power.

Smile Train, a nonprofit organization, installed the solar power system at the children’s theatres to ensure there are no disruptions during surgery.

Smile Train Vice President and Regional Director for Africa, Nkeiruka Obi, disclosed this at the Zambian National Surgical Healthcare Plan revision stakeholder workshop in Lusaka.

Mrs. Obi also called for public-private partnerships to improve surgical services in the country, noting that the private sector can help equip theatres that are currently non-operational.

She further emphasized that the health sector should consider South-to-South collaboration to enhance surgical services in the African region. Mrs. Obi stated that Zambia’s health sector needs strong collaboration with other economic sectors to improve surgical care.

National Chairperson of the Zambia Operating Theatre Nurse Interest Group Lillian Mwape says that the country has 480 operating rooms, but many are underutilized due to inadequate equipment and low staffing levels.

Meanwhile, Emmanuel Makasa, Executive Director of the Centre for Surgical Healthcare Research, stressed the need to equip district hospitals to reduce delays in patient surgeries.