U.S. to make $10m donation to Moldova’s medical establishments

The U.S. Department of State will make a large donation to medical and sanitary establishments across Moldova under the humanitarian Operation Provide Hope. At its last meeting, the Government started making preparation for receiving the aid, Info-Prim Neo reports. Health Ministry Larisa Catrinici reminded that Moldova benefited from similar aid in 2000. Making it to the recipient list for 2008 is all the more opportune since this is one of the final years of the Operation in the CIS space. According to the minister, at the beginning of the year American experts assessed the needs of the Moldovan medical and sanitary institutions and decided to ship some 100 containers with medical equipment, consumables and supplies. The estimated cost of the donation is $10 million. In addition, the State Department pledged to cover all costs of transporting the humanitarian aid to the destination rail terminals in Chisinau, Balti, Cahul, other towns where major regional medical centers are located, as well as Tighina rail station, as the donation is also intended for the medical establishments located in Moldova’s Transnistrian region. At the same time, a team of American specialists will come to Moldova to install the donated equipment and train the local medical personnel how to use it. The Moldovan government will cover the expenses for the services of customs brokers, diminishing them by identifying possibilities of unifying customs codes and by looking for other solutions. The donation is to arrive in Moldova in August or September.