HYUNDAI HELPING AFRICA WITH MOBILE CLINICS

Hyundai Motor Company will donate 10 mobile clinics to African nations this year as part of the company’s “Moving the World Together” Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative, which aims to contribute to society and demonstrate Hyundai as a socially responsible corporate citizen.

The mobile clinics will be used to provide basic medical services to residents of impoverished and remote communities in Africa. These clinics, composed of a mobile internal medicine clinic and a mobile digital X-ray clinic, are specifically built to travel on tough road conditions that are common in many African nations.

Starting with Ethiopia, ten mobile clinics will be donated this year to five African countries – Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Ghana and Rwanda. The clinics will be operated in close partnership with the Korea Foundation for International Health Care, local governments, local clinics and NGOs. The Korea Foundation for International Healthcare will provide consultation and training on the operation of the mobile clinics.

“There is no doubt that this type of investment into the African continent is much needed, and we at Hyundai South Africa strongly believe that this contribution to the African continent will start positioning Hyundai as a catalyst for change – encouraging other companies to take action in empowering and developing communities through basic human needs. Furthermore, this project demonstrates our commitment to local well-being and community upliftment,” says Stanley Anderson, Marketing Director at Hyundai Automotive South Africa.

The mobile clinics have been developed on Hyundai’s four-wheel-drive truck (HD120 chassis, GVW 12 520 kg) to boost mobility, with an 6 600 cc engine. The truck has air suspension to protect delicate medical equipment and operates independently with its own power. Furthermore, these clinics are self-sufficient hospitals where the mobile digital X-ray clinic is equipped with a digital X-ray machine and remote diagnostic systems. Additionally, the mobile internal medicine clinic features the latest medical devices, such as digital ultrasonic and portable ECG (electrocardiogram), can conduct basic medical tests, such as malaria screening; and provide medical supplies.

In addition to the donation of vehicles, sixty university students from the Happy Move Global Youth Volunteers program engaged in volunteer activities in July in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The services range from providing free health care, in collaboration with Open Doctors Society of Korea, to installing communal toilets to promoting a more hygienic environment in partnership with Habitat for Humanity International.

Hyundai recently handed over the first two customised mobile medical clinics to the Ethiopian government at the Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Health, in Addis Ababa, the nation’s capital. The handover was attended by Korea’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Mr Kim Sung-Hwan; Korean Ambassador to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Mr Chung Soonsuk; Minister of Health of Ethiopia, Dr Tedros Adhanom; the president of the Hyundai Motor Company, Mr Chung Jin-Haeng; and chairman of Hyundai Marathon Motor Engineering, Mr Haile Gebreselassie, as well as other important guests.

“Hyundai Motor Company have certainly identified a key need on the continent and through valuable CSI, epitomised by monetary and time investment, are certainly making great strides in meeting the needs of the markets in which they operate – testament to the company’s brand promise of quality delivery,” concludes Anderson.

STORY BY HYUNDAI