BY MBONO MDLULI
MBABANE – The National Emergency Response Council on HIV and AIDS (NERCHA) has donated eight vehicles worth E4.5 million to the Ministry of Health.
The donation took place on February 7, 2025 at Cooper Centre, Mbabane. Worth noting is that NERCHA made the donation through grants received from Global Fund, fund which is received through the Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM) Eswatini.
Minister of Health Mduduzi Matsebula received the donation and thanked NERCHA and Global Fund for the kind gesture. Matsebula was with his Principal Secretary Khanya Mabuza when receiving the donation. Before the hand-over was done, a brief press briefing was done, which was led by Mabuza.
Before the minister made his remarks, Mabuza allowed NERCHA National Executive Director Dr Nondumiso Ginindza-Ncube and CCM Vice Chairman Abraham Ntshalintshali were given an opportunity to make their brief remarks during the briefing. Dr Ginindza-Ncube said they were happy to be handing over the vehicles to the Ministry.
The director said the handing over of the vehicles was the fruits of the relations they had with Global Fund. Ntshalintshali said they were also happy to be part of the hand-over, as an organisation tasked with making sure that the money was received by the recipients and also ensuring that they played an oversight role in making sure that the money was spent in an expected way in fighting the three diseases, which were HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.
Matsebula said his Ministry was pleased with and greatly appreciated the support they continued to receive from Global Fund. Through a grant from Global Fund, the Ministry of Health has been given a fleet of eight motor vehicles. According to the minister, the vehicles valued at E4.5million have been procured through NERCHA and will support services offered by three departments, namely:
1. The Strategic Information Department (SID)
2. The Eswatini Health Laboratory Services (EHLS)
3. The Medicines Regulatory Unit (MRU)
“We are certain that these vehicles will add great value to the work done by the respective units, and we are grateful to Global Fund for assisting to close this gap,” he said. Matsebula assured Global Fund that these vehicles would be well managed and taken care of, especially because they had also been fitted with car tracking devices to allow for round-the- clock management and monitoring of their travel and fuel consumption.
“May I also take this time to implore the departments to ensure that the vehicles are used effectively and efficiently, and that they are well taken care of. We once again relay our gratitude to Global Fund for continued support given to the Ministry of Health,” he said.
