AVIC International Holding Corporation: Mobile hospital makes its way to Zambia

Company Profile
 
Established in 1979, AVIC International Holding Corporation (AVIC INTERNATIONAL) has established over 130 branches in more than 50 countries and regions, and owns eight listed companies. The company has over 80,000 employees serving customers in more than 180 countries and regions with a total asset of more than RMB 250 billion. Depending on the three major platforms of information technology, finance and financial investment, and overseas financing and services, the company specializes in six major business sectors, including international aviation, trade & logistics, retail & high-end consumer goods, real estate & hotel management, electronic high technology and development of resources. Over the past three decades, AVIC INTERNATIONAL has exported more than a thousand of aircrafts and imported several hundred aircrafts. It has also facilitated numerous technology imports and international cooperation.
 
Challenges
 
Zambia consists mostly of high plateaus and numinous rivers. The poor road condition causes limited transportation. The poor medical infrastructure and dispersed population still makes the medical service and health care system lags far behind in Zambia. Zambian government had promoted the ideal situation of “making every resident access to medical and health service”, but due to shortage of funding, it processed difficult. Many regions are faced with difficulty to access to medical service, and some residents even have never hospitalized. The following data explain it all:
 
o  Life expectancy in Zambia is 40.5 years old and infant mortality is 10.2%
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o  15-49 year-old people with HIV/AIDS are account for 17% of the population in Zambia, being one of the countries with the highest HIV infection rate in the world
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o  Malaria kills about 50,000 people each year and most of victims are children. Malaria is the number one killer in Zambia
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o  Zambia has just 700 doctors nationwide, far away from the actual need of 2320 doctors. Appendicitis kills hundreds of people each year at least.
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（The data come from Human Development Report 2007 issued by United Nations）
 
Solutions
 
According to the needs of Zambian government and local situation, AVIC INTERNATIONAL joined hands with the Ministry of Health in Zambia to tackle the problems and successfully customized the mobile hospital project in Zambia.
 
Mobile hospital is a kind of ambulance that installs different functions of medical equipments in special vehicles based on the different needs and situations of customers to provide for fast, flexible and high-quality mobile medical service. Compared with traditional hospital, mobile hospital is characterized by convenience, affordable cost and diverse medical service. Moreover, it is easy to build and available to the medical assistance under any difficult circumstance.
 
The mobile hospital project in Zambia consists of 9 sets of mobile hospitals and provides mobile medical service for 9 provinces in Zambia. Every set of mobile hospital is based on SUV chassis and consisted of different functional vehicles, including vehicles for clinic, X-ray, operation, Medical laboratory , drug distribution and promotion, Medical staff accommodation and water and electricity supply. These vehicles can reach the remote regions with poor transportation and form a general hospital rapidly and conveniently by linking the central vents between vehicles. Such a hospital functions as a general hospital to conduct routine check-ups in clinic as well as carry out a surgery. The project also provided 30 emergency speedboat and medical carriers for Zambia to transport patients.
 
In order to ensure the sustainable operation of the project, the medical team has trained many local doctors, which not only improved the local doctors’ medical professional level, but also laid a solid foundation for the smooth handover and operation of the mobile hospitals. The successful operation and big impact of this project in Zambia drove the Ministry of Health in Zambia to establish a mobile medical company. At present, the mobile hospitals have been handed over to Zambian mobile medical company for operation and making future medical service plan.
 
The mobile hospital project in Zambia started its service in 2011. By 2014, the mobile medical service has covered 9 provinces and 76 regions in Zambia with over 100 drop-in service, 491,120 patients and 25,611 surgeries. In 2013, the mobile hospitals provided medical service for World Health Assembly held in Zambia and 307 attendees from 24 countries visited the mobile hospitals and gave high praise.
 
Achievement
 
The mobile hospitals in Zambia has become a model of the cooperation between AVIC INTERNATIONAL for improving the local people's livelihood, which have won the appreciation of Zambian government, Chinese ministry of commerce, consulates and embassies in Zambia , supported and trusted by the local people and won the wide media coverage at home and abroad. This fully reflects that AVIC, as a state-owned company, burdens the social responsibility in Africa and greatly improved the image of Chinese government and Chinese companies in African government and Africans.
 
The mobile hospital well complements the traditional hospitals. It is a kind of good medical service, especially in underdeveloped countries and regions with the practical needs. The successful operation of mobile hospital project in Zambia executed by AVIC INTERNATIONAL, began the whole practice that Chinese companies transport mobile hospitals and related medical service to foreign countries. AVIC INTERNATIONAL has accumulated experience in product design, manufacturing, shipping, after-sales service and medical service. The valuable experience will transform into a mature mode of product and service and promote it around the world. Finally .With the continuous practice and improvement, it will become an industry.