ECOWAS Commission Amazons donate Medical Equipment to Bula Hospital in Guinea-Bissau

The ECOWAS Commission Amazons, in collaboration with the ECOWAS Stabilisation Mission in Guinea-Bissau, has donated medical equipment to the Hospital of Bula in Guinea-Bissau as part of a year-long commemoration of the 2023 International Women’s Day. The donation will help to strengthen healthcare services, patient care, and the essential medical services given at Bula Hospital.

The Vice-President of the ECOWAS Commission, Her Excellency Mrs Damtien L. Tchintchibidja, who was represented by the ECOWAS Resident Representative in Guinea-Bissau, Professor Hamidou Boly, said this activity is part of the celebration of the 2023 International Women’s Day noting that the ECOWAS Commission has been very active in assisting the citizens of the region, particularly in healthcare, as demonstrated by a standby military medical contingent from Cote D’Ivoire.  Prof. Boly pointed out the various interventions of the Commission in partnership with the Government of Guinea-Bissau to improve the conditions of women and children including the vulnerable population in the country.

In his remarks, the Minister of Health of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, Dr Dionsio Cumba, expressed gratitude to the ECOWAS Commission Amazons for the items donated and indicated that they were critically needed. Dr Cumba also asked for further funding for the hospital to help it manage the growing difficulties in providing healthcare. He pledged that the donated medical equipment will be put to good use for the communities and beyond.

The donation included cutting-edge medical equipment, advanced diagnostic tools, therapeutic devices, monitoring systems, and other essential medical equipment. As a result of this contribution, Bula Hospital will be better equipped to meet the healthcare requirements of its community and its patients.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was established when the ECOWAS Treaty was signed by 15 West African Heads of State and Government on the 28^th of May 1975 in Lagos, Nigeria. The ECOWAS region spans an area of 5.2 million square kilometres. The Member States are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal and Togo.

Considered one of the pillars of the African Economic Community, ECOWAS was set up to promote co-operation and integration, leading to the establishment of an economic union in West Africa to raise the living standards of its peoples, and to maintain and enhance economic stability, foster relations-among Member States and contribute to the progress and development of the African continent.

In 2007, ECOWAS Secretariat was transformed into a Commission. The Commission is headed by the President, assisted by a Vice President, and Five Commissioners, comprising experienced bureaucrats who are providing the leadership in this new orientation.  As part of this renewal process, ECOWAS is implementing critical and strategic programmes that will deepen cohesion and progressively eliminate identified barriers to full integration. In this way, the estimated 300 million citizens of the community can ultimately take ownership for the realization of the new vision of moving from an ECOWAS of States to an “ECOWAS of the People: Peace and Prosperity to All” by 2050.