Czech Government Pledges €60 Million to Support Healthcare Sector

This week, a delegation from the Czech Republic has visited Zambia and engaged in high-level bilateral talks with the government about how the two countries can cooperate to further shared ideals.

Most notably, on Tuesday the Czech health minister Vlastimi Valek met with President Hichilema and shared his intention to donate 60 million euros to help develop the Zambian health sector. This would make Zambia one of six beneficiaries of a larger funding package that the Czech government, in conjunction with fellow EU members, hopes will improve health outcomes across the African continent.

Dr Valek told the President that, “we would like to release 60 million euros for your country to support healthcare-related projects…thus deepening the already-developed beautiful cooperation between our countries”.

This is in addition to a donation of 800 kilograms of medical equipment that the Czech government provided upon their arrival, as confirmed by Health Minister Elijah Muchima.

This development assistance is timely, coming just days after another retrenchment of US aid, and it signals that the Zambian government is taking robust steps to reposition the country and engage fruitfully with new development partners. This relationship with the Czech Republic and its EU partners goes beyond just development assistance.

“Health is extremely important to us”, President Hichilema said at the meeting, “the COVID era taught us a lot, we lost of lot of people unnecessarily because initially the vaccines were only available to those who manufactured them. So, we want to see capacity; we invite Czech firms to jointly invest with Zambian companies in the manufacturing of drugs”.

Furthermore, in a separate meeting, the Czech minister of social affairs announced a donation of 7.2 million Kwacha to support Zambia’s geological survey. This will greatly enhance the Zambia’s capacity for mineral exploration, creating new mining opportunities.

This reflects the multifaceted and mutually beneficial nature of Zambia’s relationship with Czech Republic. Not only does this show that Zambia is viewed as an attractive destination for investment, but also that the government is taking the vital steps to create and maintain productive alliances in a fast-changing and unpredictable world.