USAID donates cutting-edge TB testing machines to Ethiopia worth US$3M

ETHIOPIA—The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), on behalf of the American people, has donated 156 cutting-edge tuberculosis (TB) testing machines worth $3 million to the people of Ethiopia. 

These new technologies will shorten the time it takes to detect tuberculosis from six weeks to two hours.

The donation of these 156 TB testing devices demonstrates USAID’s commitment to assisting Ethiopians in successfully treating TB cases across the country.

This provision of cutting-edge tuberculosis (TB) testing machines is just one portion of the US’s $4.2 billion in development funding over the last five years.

This donation increases the total to 659 machines nationwide, and together with the government of Ethiopia, the US is helping millions of Ethiopians lift themselves out of poverty, supporting their health and wellness for a better future.

USAID Mission Director Scott Hocklander presented these GeneXpert machines to H.E. Dr. Dereje Duguma, State Minister for the Ministry of Health (MOH), at the ALERT Hospital in Addis Abeba.

Speaking at the ceremony, Hocklander stated that USAID is Ethiopia’s largest bilateral health contributor, investing over $154 million annually to develop the country’s national health system. 

For 120 years, the United States and Ethiopia have partnered in health, education, agriculture and food security, science and the environment, and many other areas to improve the lives of all Ethiopians.

TB is the most common infectious illness in Ethiopia and around the world, killing over 21,000 Ethiopians each year, more than HIV and malaria combined, which equates to 60 deaths each day.

Over the last two decades, USAID has collaborated with the Ministry of Health and other stakeholders to diagnose every person with tuberculosis, treat those who require treatment, prevent the spread of new infections, and generate evidence and rapid adoption of new technologies and medicines to move Ethiopia closer to eliminating tuberculosis.

In 2022, tuberculosis became the second biggest infectious disease killer globally after COVID-19, and it is the top cause of mortality among individuals living with HIV. It is also one of the leading causes of antimicrobial resistance-related deaths.

Approximately 10.6 million people fell ill with tuberculosis, and 1.3 million died from it; of these, 167,000 were co-infected with HIV.

In America, 325,000 new tuberculosis cases are expected in 2022, with 239,987 (74%) notified, 4% more than in 2021.

The region’s estimated death toll was 35,000, with 11,000 attributed to TB/HIV co-infection. A total of 5,136 cases of MDR/MDR-TB were detected, with 90% having begun treatment.

The End TB Strategy aims to end the global TB epidemic and is linked to the SDGs under three high-level indicators: reduce the number of TB deaths by 95% compared to 2015, reduce new cases by 90% between 2015 and 2035, and ensure that no family faces catastrophic costs due to TB.

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