HOSPITAL SHIP TREATING AMAZON NATIVES

[Anchor Lead]

Approximately 300,000 Brazilian natives live near the Amazon rainforest, dubbed the lungs of the earth. Some of them live in riverside areas and it is difficult for them to visit urban regions and receive necessary medical care. A hospital ship, which uses South Korean technology, has embarked on a mission to treat Amazon natives.

[Pkg]

A vessel sails down the Amazon River. With medical experts from cities near the river on board, it arrives at a native village after a one-hour voyage. The medical team visits the natives' huts to check on their health.

[Soundbite] (DOCTOR) : "This chest pain is common among natives. It is caused by activities like hunting and fishing."

One doctor is assigned to take care of ten native villages. But there are more villages that need medical attention. South Korean and Brazilian national flags fly on a two-story vessel heading for a port. This is a hospital ship introduced by the South Korean government through a four-year project, which cost 1.8 billion won. A worn-out ship offered by a Brazilian municipal government was repaired and transformed into this hospital vessel. Medical teams travel aboard the ship to treat native Brazilians living in remote regions. Their medical records will be transmitted in real time to disease control and prevention centers located in urban areas.

[Soundbite] WILSON LIMA(AMAZONAS GOVERNOR) : "Various samples will be obtained through the use of cutting-edge technologies to treat natives living near the river."

With the capacity to treat some 100 patients a day, the hospital ship is able to effectively attend to ten times more people than now.

[Soundbite] KIM CHAN-WOO(KOREAN AMBASSADOR TO BRAZIL) : "This is a very significant opportunity to introduce Korea's medical technology to this Amazon region."

Following the launch of the South Korean IT medical vessel, the Amazonas provincial government plans to introduce more hospital ships equipped with cutting-edge equipment.