The Botanica Local Medical Association of Chisinau will receive ultrasound equipment to the value of over US$80,000. The money was provided by the Government of Japan in the framework of the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects – Kusanone Program, IPN reports.

Japan’s Ambassador to Moldova Katayama Yoshihiro and the director of the Botanica Local Medical Association Marina Golovach signed a US$80,745 grant contract.

In the signing ceremony, Ambassador Katayama Yoshihiro said the donation to the value of over US$80,000 comes to extend the cooperation in healthcare and to strengthen the capacities of the primary medical assistance institutions of the municipality of Chisinau. “I’m convinced that you will be making a maximum effort to successfully complete the proposed project and the ultrasound equipment will be sued efficiently for the wellbeing of all the residents of Chisinau and the persons form Ukraine who found refuge here following the outbreak of war,” stated the ambassador.

The diplomat noted that the Government of Japan started to support Moldova when this only proclaimed its Independence, promoting sustainable economic development and increasing the quality of life. Since then, by multiple assistance programs and projects at central and local levels, Japan has supported the modernization of medical and educational institutions, technologization of agriculture, rural development, sustainable energy production and enhancement of resilience to fires and disasters.

“We have promoted culture and arts, contributed to the training of hundreds of local functionaries, offered technological assistance in launching the first Moldovan satellite. In connection with the war in Ukraine, we provided immediate assistance in managing the humanitarian crisis, detaching anticrisis experts and medical personnel, and recently signed a grant agreement to outfit five hospitals in the country with state-of-the-art medical equipment. We, the people of Japan and the Government of Japan, have always stood by our friends in Moldova,” stated Katayama Yoshihiro.

The Kusanone Program was launched in the Republic of Moldova in 2008. Japan so far offered non-reimbursable financial assistance in the amount of US$6.7 million for 79 development projects aimed at improving the wellbeing of society and human security. The project at the Botanica Local Medical Association is the seventh project approved in the 2022 Japanese fiscal year. The sum planned for the seven projects totals over US$450,000.