ETHIOPIA – The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Ethiopia has completed a three-year program to identify, treat, and cure people living with tuberculosis (TB) in urban areas in Ethiopia.
The program also increased the capacity of local health organizations to serve TB patients.
USAID/Ethiopia’s US$4 million (215 million Birr) Urban TB Local Organizations Network activity worked in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Addis Ababa City Administration, Dire Dawa City Administration, the Harari Regional Health Bureau, and seven community-based organizations.
Over the past three years, this efficient and effective USAID TB treatment activity reached over 235,000 people in urban areas of Ethiopia with TB testing and other services.
As a direct result of the project, over 14,300 people were tested for and diagnosed with TB, treated, and completely cured of the disease.
USAID’s Urban TB Local Organizations Network activity worked alongside USAID’s ongoing Eliminate TB project, which is striving to end TB in Ethiopia entirely by 2030.
The tuberculosis bacteria is one of the most destructive pathogens on the planet. In Ethiopia, TB killed over 19,000 people in 2022, which is more than two deaths every hour.
The WHO estimates that about 30 percent of TB cases go undetected by the healthcare system in Ethiopia, resulting in unnecessary deaths. Last year, approximately 145,000 Ethiopians contracted TB.
At the closeout event, USAID/Ethiopia Health Office Director Jonathan Ross joined the Ministry of Health’s Senior Advisor, Dr. Kebede Worku, as they celebrated the work of the three-year-long project.
More than 2.3 million lives have been saved since the United States Government began investing in the fight to end tuberculosis in Ethiopia two decades ago.
In 2022 alone, USAID provided more than US$1.8 billion dollars in development and humanitarian aid to Ethiopia.
Last month, USAID celebrated the completion of its US$37.5 million project to give newborns the best care and protection in Ethiopia.
The USAID Transform: Health in Developing Regions activity was launched in 2017 to give newborns the best care, protection, and introduction to life by providing women access to skilled professionals for their prenatal care, delivery, and post-natal care.
This USAID/Ethiopia activity remains the single largest health investment in maternal and child health in four regions – Afar, Benishangul Gumuz, Gambella, and Somali.
It was implemented through a consortium led by Amref Health Africa, which worked hand-in-hand with the Ethiopian Ministry of Health to narrow the health equity gap in these four regions.
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