More than 40,000 internally displaced people in the western region of
Azerbaijan will benefit from the rehabilitation of a hospital, due to a partnership between the Embassy of Japan and World Vision.
World Vision will rehabilitate the central hospital in
Ganja city of the Kalbajar district that continues to suffer after the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict of 1989.
In 1993 the hospital in the conflict hit Kalbajar district was re-established in
the administrative building of the vine factory in Ganja, 350 km west of the capital, Baku. There has not been any renovation works of the building except some minor cosmetic repairs since the
hospital was built. The physical status of the building will be improved, additional sanitation facilities and heating systems will be installed, so that the quality of medical care will increase
significantly and a more conducive working environment for personnel will be created.
'Education and health are very important factors in the lives of people. We hope that the resources
of the Government of Japan and its people will contribute to the development of these two sectors in Azerbaijan,' said Ambassador of Japan, Mr. Tadahiro Abe at the official signing ceremony in Baku.
The project is the second partnership project with the Embassy of Japan.
'Our first project was the construction of a kindergarten that we carried out successfully a year ago. Now, we will
rehabilitate the hospital. This is another example of our good partnership with the Embassy of Japan,' said World Vision Azerbaijan National Director, Mr. Seifu Tirfie to ceremony attendees, including
government officials and local media.
Hospital personnel are looking forward to re-start their work at full capacity in an improved environment later this year.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
