ANTANANARIVO – The American people, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), donated medical equipment and other health commodities to equip 116 health facilities in all seven districts of the eastern Atsinanana region of Madagascar.
The donation, valued at $650,000 (2.7 billion ariary), is part of a larger initiative to deliver more than $8.2 million (34 billion ariary) worth of medical equipment to health clinics and hospitals across Madagascar.
“USAID is working with the Government of Madagascar like ‘mpirahalahy mianala’ to build a self-sustaining health system, so all Malagasy people can benefit from effective and sustainable health care” said Dr. Hajarijaona Razafindrafito, Deputy Director of USAID’s Health Office. “We also support the Ministry of Public Health’s regional initiatives by distributing essential commodities and equipment to health facilities in 14 regions.”
The medical equipment and health commodities handed over at a ceremony last Friday includes hundreds of beds and mattresses as well as high-quality equipment to help ensure patients at local clinics will receive quality health care services.
Friday’s delivery of medical equipment was made possible through a partnership between USAID’s ACCESS program and the CURE project, an U.S.-based nongovernmental organization that provides health material support to developing countries. Additional donations are scheduled for August 2022, in the Melaky region and September 2022 in the Analanjirofo region.
In addition to equipment donations, ACCESS provides the Ministry of Public Health technical support to improve health systems and infrastructure, enabling health workers to improve the quality of services, especially for mothers and young children, in support of Madagascar’s national vision of “Health for all at all ages.”
As the largest single-country donor to Madagascar’s health sector, the U.S. government helps improve the health and well-being of the Malagasy people and has provided $85.5 million in 2021 alone to fund USAID’s health projects across Madagascar.