Bahrain Tribune, August 27, 2003

Bahrain yesterday approved the second consignment of advanced medical equipment for Sudan.

The gift of the more than 44 pieces of equipment, including a fully equipped ambulance, has been approved under the directives of Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the director of the medical-equipment directorate, Dr Ebrahim Yaqoob, remarked.

"The equipment will be used at Shaikh Isa Hosptal in the Bu Hamad area of Sudan," he said. "This area is significant as far as the name is concerned as the late Shaikh Isa was often referred to as Bu Hamad (father of Hamad)."

The director indicated that the first consignment sent exactly three years ago, helped furnish the hospital to a great extent. "Though the hospital was built by the government of Sudan, Bahrain has taken it upon itself to help with its equipment so as to better serve the people of the vicinity."

Dr Yaqoob said that the gift to a fellow Arab nation was also in line with Bahrain coming to the assistance of other nations like Palestine and Iraq as well."A team of Bahrain engineers is also now in Iraq to see what could be done to renovate and get back on stream the 30-year-old Shaikh Isa Hospital in Baghdad as well," he said.

He said that the ambulance, a Mercedes, was the latest model and was fitted with all the state-of-the-art equipment.