Kathmandu, February 2

The Charge d’Affaires ad interim of Japan to Nepal Shinya Machida signed a grant contract of $82,514 (approximately Rs 8.5 million) with Ranju Napit, chairperson of Labourer, Women and Child Welfare Council, for the Project for the Installation of Medical Equipment at a community health centre in Bhaktapur during an event organised here today.

The medical equipment will be installed in Bhaktapur-based Valley Health Centre.

The project for the installation of medical equipment at the community health centre is funded under the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects of the Japanese government. The project will be supporting installation of medical equipment such as ECG machine, haematology analyser, mobile X-ray machine and

ultrasound machine. The medical equipment, which will be provided under the grant scheme, will help the centre offer wider range of services, including accurate check-ups, diagnosis and prenatal care.

Valley Health Centre has been offering medical services to women and children since its establishment in 2008. “It was difficult to treat poverty-stricken and marginalised as there were no equipment in the centre and we weren’t able to treat them. They weren’t able to afford for the medical expenses in the other health centres. We hope to provide quality health service to the people after the availability of medical equipment,” said Napit.

The Embassy of Japan hopes that this project will contribute towards enhancing the centre’s medical services provided to women and children in the suburbs of Kathmandu. “We hope that the assistance will help people get quality health services,” said Machida.