The US boosts Madagascar's health system with $4.5m donation of medical supplies
The United States government has announced a $4.5 million donation of modern medical materials and equipment to help local health workers improve the provision of quality health services in Madagascar.
At the donation event in Toamasina, USAID Mission Director John Dunlop handed over two containers filled with a variety of medical materials and equipment for health centers in the regions of Atsinanana and Analanjirofo. Through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. government will be providing 16 total containers of supplies, 2,500 smartphone kits with solar chargers and power banks, 460 tablet computers, and 22 laptops.
The containers of materials, which include hospital beds, blood pressure cuffs, stethoscopes, and more, will be supplied to health centers in 10 of the regions of Madagascar where the ACCESS program operates. The tablet computers and laptops are destined for primary health centers, district hospitals, and district health offices.
The smartphone kits support the Ministry of Public Health’s community-level mobile health strategy. Under this strategy, community health volunteers use a special smartphone application to improve the quality of the services they provide and quickly and reliably send data about the health situation in their communities back to the Ministry.
Director Dunlop said, “We are proud to support Madagascar’s health workers and the Malagasy they serve by helping to improve the quality of their services and the quality and timeliness of health data being received by the Ministry. These mobile technology materials we are providing will increase the exchange of information and communications.”
Prime Minister Christian Ntsay, Minister of Public Health, Prof. Julio Rakotonirina, and Director Dunlop attended the donation event, held at the regional health directorate of the Atsinanana region in Toamasina. The donation, made through the Accessible Continuum of Care and Essential Services Sustained (ACCESS) program funded by USAID, will strengthen Madagascar’s health system at all levels.
These shipments of medical supplies are possible thanks to a partnership with Project C.U.R.E, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization that specializes in the delivery of medical supplies and equipment to developing countries.
This important donation will significantly improve care for mothers and young children. It demonstrates the ongoing partnership and solidarity between the United States and Madagascar.
