SEOUL, April 13 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s overseas aid agency said it had built an additional ward for a hospital it set up in El Alto, a Bolivian city located at an altitude of 4,150 meters, one of the highest major cities in the world, aimed at supporting the health of local citizens.
El Alto has poor access to medical services since it’s a plateau city. Even the road heading to La Paz, the capital of Bolivia, is very steep slopes with sharp curves, making it difficult to transport emergency patients.
The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) opened a primary medical institution called the El Alto Korean Hospital in 1997 and added a four-story maternity ward in 2008, turning it into a secondary hospital with a total of 95 beds.
Starting in 2016, the agency launched a third round of support and injected US$9.7 million to build the third ward.
The third ward is equipped with patient rooms, emergency rooms and examination rooms. It’s furnished with 270 types of medical equipment, including artificial ventilators and X-ray machines.
Image Credit: KOICA / photonews@koreabizwire.com
