U.S. Government Donates Over U.S. $1.1 Million Worth of Equipment, Supplies, and Drugs for HIV/AIDS to the Ministry of Health

August 2, 2006
No. 23/06

The United States Government (USG), through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), has donated equipment, supplies, and drugs worth over U.S. $1.1 (over 9.9 Million Birr) for HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment to the Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Health (MOH).

At a ceremony held on August 2, 2006, Dr. Kebede Worku, State Minister of Health, received the donation on behalf of the Ministry of Health from the Country Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Office in Ethiopia, Dr. Tadesse Wuhib.  The donation includes diagnostic laboratory machines, microscopes, sterilizers, water distillers, centrifuges, incubators, drugs, and computers and office equipment.
 
The materials were provided to strengthen the national program of anti-retroviral treatment (ART) that currently treats 41,000 HIV-positive individuals through MOH-PEPFAR collaboration.  They will be used for the diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) services, and to support monitoring and evaluation of HIV/AIDS programs at the national level.  The drugs, equipment, and supplies will be delivered to hospitals and laboratories currently implementing these programs across Ethiopia.

Under PEPFAR, the U.S. Government collaborates with Ethiopian Ministry of Health and local and international civil society organizations, universities, and private sector institutions for HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment.  PEPFAR’s goal for Ethiopia is to provide (by 2008) treatment to 210,000 people with HIV/AIDS, to render care and support services to 1.05 million people, and to prevent the occurrence of 550,000 new HIV infections in order to turn the tide of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Ethiopia.  Over the past three years, the U.S. Government has provided 2 Billion Birr under PEPFAR for this effort.

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