July 19, 2005
No. 34/2005

Laboratory Equipment Saves Lives
U.S. Donation Supports 20 Hospitals in Fight Against HIV/AIDS
 
Addis Ababa (U.S. Embassy) – On Tuesday, July 19, U.S. Ambassador Aurelia E. Brazeal joined Dr Teodros Adhanom, State Minister of the Federal Ministry of Health, for a site visit to St. Paul’s Hospital, giving them the chance to see firsthand how equipment donated by the American people through President Bush’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is transforming Ethiopia’s capacity for improving the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS.  Accompanying the Ambassador and the State Minister were Mr. William Hammink, Director of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Ethiopia and Dr. Tadesse Wuhib, Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention office in Ethiopia (CDC-Ethiopia).
 
Speaking during her visit to St. Paul’s, Ambassador Brazeal said, “It has been remarkable to see, in even the short time that the Emergency Plan has been at work in Ethiopia, the dramatic results that President Bush’s program is having here.  It has taken a lot of combined effort – from all of us at the U.S. Mission in Ethiopia and from our Ethiopian partners – to accomplish what we have to date and to lay the groundwork for future success.”
 
The equipment now in use at St. Paul’s is part of a larger donation, valued at over $1.36 million (over 11.77 million Birr) that is supporting 20 hospitals in 11 regions of Ethiopia.  The laboratory equipment donated to St. Paul’s Hospital and other facilities is playing a significant role in the diagnosis and monitoring of patients with HIV/AIDS who receive antiretroviral treatment (ART) in the national program supported by the United States.  Health workers, laboratory technicians, and pharmacists at hospitals delivering ART throughout the country have been trained in proper use of the donated equipment, test kits, and drugs.
The vision of the President’s Emergency Plan is to turn the tide of the global pandemic.  The American people have dedicated $15 billion globally over five years –  the largest international health effort in history by a government dedicated to a single disease. Today, this coordinated effort is combating HIV/AIDS in more than one hundred nations around the world, and also working to relieve the suffering of millions infected and affected by the disease.  The goals of this unprecedented effort include a special focus on 15 nations – including Ethiopia – that account for more than 50 percent of the world’s infections.  In Ethiopia, the Emergency Plan is supporting prevention, care, and treatment programs for many of the 1.5 million Ethiopians living with HIV/AIDS and 537,000 AIDS orphans.

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