Field hospital named after Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed opens in Guinea

The 208-bed facility will assist the country in its fight against Covid-19

The Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Field Hospital in Conakry, Guinea, can accommodate 208 patients. Wam

A field hospital funded by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed has opened in Guinea to assist the country in its fight against Covid-19.

The 208-bed facility, which includes 48 in intensive care spots, a pharmacy and a laboratory, was named after the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.

It was fitted out in just 30 days in the Guinean capital of Conakry, with the support of Emirates Global Aluminium’s Guinea Alumina Corporation, which mines bauxite ore, the world’s main source of aluminium, in the country.

The facility has now been handed over to the country's Ministry of Health, which will run it.

The country’s minister of health, Dr Col Remy Lamah, thanked the UAE leadership for funding the construction of the facility “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,” he said.

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Khaled Al Rashedi, head of the UAE delegation and GAC board member, said the hospital was testament to the company’s commitment to Guinea.

"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,” he said.

GAC is a subsidiary of EGA, one of the world’s largest producers of aluminium, and the biggest industrial company in the UAE outside oil and gas.

The operation began exporting bauxite last year, and is expected to boost Guinea’s economy by more than five per cent at full production.

The country has not seen the dramatic peaks and troughs of cases seen elsewhere in the US, Europe and other places, with confirmed infections remaining fairly constant since April.

On Friday, the country recorded 90 new cases, taking the tally to 13,039 confirmed infections. Total deaths stand at 76.

The UAE has dispatched more than 1,613 tonnes of aid to 120 countries in need, supporting more than 1.6 million medics since the start of the pandemic.