At least 225,212 people, mostly women and children in the outskirts of Dar es Salaam, have received medical care through mobile clinics, deployed by the National Bank of Commerce (NBC) since 2002.

The Bank’s Managing Director, Lawrence Mafuru said in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the clinics were also useful during the Medical Association of Tanzania Health Camp in the Lake Zone Area; the 2003 Africa Malaria Day’ the 2007 Mass Drug Administration against Filarlasis (Matende) and also during the Gongo la Mboto bomb blasts when the Clinics were on site providing medical care.

“We offer these services for free and I want this to be understood that way…..it is our way of giving back to the community that we operate in,” Lawrence said in Dar es Salaam at a function to present a new mobile clinic to the Health and Social Welfare Minister, Dr Haji Mponda.

NBC acquired the first Mobile Clinic in 2002. The clinics are being donated to the Dar es Salaam Public Health Delivery Systems Board Association. They are then deployed in the city outskirts to provide free medical services for city outskirt residents. The bank then caters for salaries and vehicle maintenance costs while the Association provides the medicines and the doctors who provide free medical services.

Yesterday’s TShs. 75 million Mobile Clinic was the fifth for the bank to provide since 2002. Dr Mponda thanked NBC for the donation, saying it goes along way into improving deleivery of health services in the country.Over the years, the bank has disbursed over Sh3 billion into the community projects during the past years. The money has been utilized in improving health and education services as well as in entrepreneurship development.