'Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Field Hospital' inaugurated in Guinea to help fight COVID-19

The Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Field Hospital, built under the directives and patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, was inaugurated yesterday by the Minister of Health of the Republic of Guinea, Doctor Colonel Remy Lamah, in the presence of representatives from the United Arab Emirates and Emirates Global Aluminium’s Guinea Alumina Corporation (GAC).

The Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Field Hospital was erected and fitted out in a record time of just 30 days in the Guinean capital Conakry by Tamouh Healthcare and Weatherhaven, with the support of GAC. The facility is fully equipped with 208 beds, including 48 in intensive care, a pharmacy and a medical laboratory. It has been handed over to the Guinean State and, moving forward, it will be managed and operated by the Ministry of Health.

Doctor Colonel Remy Lamah, Guinean Minister of Health, said: "On behalf of the President of the Republic, His Excellency Professor Alpha Condé, and most of all, on the behalf of the Guinean people, I want to thank the UAE leadership for funding the construction of the Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Field Hospital and all stakeholders involved for the incredible job they have done along with other partners for building this field hospital quickly and professionally. Broad, fast action is needed to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and the Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Field Hospital will help us do just that by strengthening our ability to respond to the pandemic and to improve our economic and social recovery."

Khaled Al Rashedi, head of the UAE delegation and GAC board member added: "We are here in Guinea, in the midst of the hardship and challenges brought by COVID-19, to support the Republic of Guinea and its people. This initiative is one testimony among many to our leadership’s commitment to Guinea. We are thankful to the leadership of the UAE and Guinea for their continued support and oversight."

The Chargé d’Affaires at the UAE Embassy in Guinea, Khaled Al Hosani, declared: "Today, we witness another milestone in the deep partnership between our two countries in the inauguration of the Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Field Hospital, which was established in record time to support in the battle against COVID-19."

GAC is a bauxite mining and export operation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of EGA, the world’s largest ‘premium aluminium’ producer and the biggest industrial company in the UAE outside oil and gas. The development of GAC was one of the largest UAE investments anywhere in sub-Saharan Africa. GAC began bauxite exports last year and is expected to boost Guinea’s economy by more than five per cent at full production.