DAR ES SALAAM: THE DEPUTY Speaker of National Assembly, Mussa Azan Zungu, has launched an oxygen generating plant for the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute (JKCI) Dar Group which will increase efficiency in services delivery to meet international standards.
The plant worth 526.6m/- was purchased by the Tanzania Bankers Association (TBA) from Türkiye and handed over to JKCI.
Mr Zungu congratulated the TBA for using some of their income to contribute to the gas plant so that the citizens can get treatment.
He called on JKCI to reduce medical expenses to make them affordable to more citizens and reduce the burden on the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to cover a lot of medical expenses of members.
Moreover, Mr Zungu said President Samia Suluhu Hassan has already directed the relevant authorities to ensure that every region has an oxygen-generating plant to avoid the inconvenience for citizens to seek oxygen in Dar es Salaam.
He said currently many countries are coming to Tanzania to get various health services due to the improvements and big investments made by the government under President Samia.
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Mr Zungu said that through a clean cooking energy campaign, Dr Samia wants to ensure the environment is protected and citizens remain healthy by avoiding dirty energy.
He also used the opportunity to announce that Ilala Constituency will today provide free health services including testing and treatment of chronic diseases to citizens at Bungoni Ilala clinic in collaboration with JKCI.
For her side, JKCI Acting Executive Director, Dr Delilah Kimambo said the plant will reduce operating costs by 3.7 per cent for the first year which will connect every part that uses oxygen to the hospital and make it easier to send services to patients.
“Due to the need for oxygen air for some patients, JKCI Dar Group purchased oxygen gas from various service providers including Tanzania Oxygen Limited and Salima Oxygen Limited but now we have our oxygen plant,” she said .
She said that plant uses 60 KVA of electricity and injects oxygen air with a volume of 21mm square per hour and a speed of 5m square per hour during the change in the gas cylinder.
Similarly, she said that plant is equipped with various equipment including a pressure transmitter, refrigerated air dryer and air receiving tank of 1000 liters.
Representative of TBA, Mr Herman Kasekende said the TBA will continue to support the initiatives pursued by government and other key players to ensure the country has a healthy population
