The pediatric surgery department of the Balti Municipal Hospital has received modern medical equipment thanks to a Japanese grants program known as Kusanone, meaning grassroots.

The Japanese Embassy in Moldova said in a press release that the new equipment will enable the hospital to provide complex surgical procedures without delay and sparing child patients from the need to travel to Chisinau. Further, with the digital X-ray machine repaired, children in the northern capital will again be able to get annual preventive scans.

The hospital also received a device for diathermy coagulation (which is used to cauterize vessels and prevent blood loss), three surgical light systems, three electrical operating tables, a motor for orthopedic surgery and other necessary equipment.

The program was started in 2013 and the grant’s value is $120,000.

Japan’s Ambassador to Moldova Masanobu Yoshii will visit the hospital on Friday to see the results of the project.

In 2017, the Balti Municipal Hospital carried out about 800 surgeries on children aged 4-18 years.