Government of Equatorial Guinea to improve all hospitals in the country

May 18 2013

The government of Equatorial Guinea is working to renovate all the hospitals in the country within the next four years, according to Minister of Health Tomas Mecheba Fernandez Galilea.

Mr. Fernandez, who is also secretary general of the Socialist Party of Equatorial Guinea (PSGE), discussed the renovation project in a press conference with international media about his party's platform and developments in the country's health sector. The PSGE is part of Equatorial Guinea's governing coalition.

According to Mr. Fernandez, foreign companies have worked with the government to play an important role in improving health conditions in the country. "The government requires that all oil companies contribute toward social service projects. We have had excellent results with the work that Marathon Oil has done. They partnered with us to establish a malaria program that has benefited citizens throughout the country, we are planning to produce the malaria vaccine here in Equatorial Guinea," he said.

He said that the public has good access to quality health care, and that the quality is improving and the access growing year by year. "We have the state-of-the-art La Paz hospitals in Bata and Malabo, which are available to everyone in the country," he said. "They are not just for the elite. Everyone is welcome to go. We have several other hospitals that are available for our citizens at a lower cost than in neighboring countries. We offer treatments for AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis to all Equatoguineans at no cost."

Equatorial Guinea's political parties are currently campaigning for the elections to be held on May 26. This is a historic election, in which citizens will elect members of a new Senate established in accordance with the constitutional reforms of February 2012. Voters will also elect members of a new parliament as well as local council members.

SOURCE Republic of Equatorial Guinea