On February 23, the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) donated 156 cutting-edge tuberculosis (TB) testing machines – worth $3 million – to the people of Ethiopia.  These new machines will reduce the time it takes to diagnose TB from as long as six weeks to two hours.  USAID Mission Director Scott Hocklander handed over these GeneXpert machines to H.E. Dr. Dereje Duguma State Minister for the Ministry of Health (MOH) at the ALERT Hospital in Addis Ababa.

TB is the leading infectious disease in Ethiopia and globally, claiming the lives of over 21,000 Ethiopians annually – more than HIV and malaria combined.  That is equivalent to 60 deaths every day.  Over the past two decades, USAID has partnered with the MoH and other stakeholders to diagnose every person with TB, cure those who need treatment, prevent the spread of new infections, and generate evidence and rapid uptake of new technologies and medicines to move Ethiopians towards eliminating TB.

The donation of these 156 TB testing machines is part of USAID’s commitment to supporting the people of Ethiopia to successfully treat TB cases nationwide. Today’s donation brings the total to 659 machines nationwide.

“USAID is Ethiopia’s largest bilateral health donor and is investing more than $154 million every year to strengthen Ethiopia’s national health system across the country,” said Mission Director Scott Hocklander at the event.

This donation of cutting-edge tuberculosis (TB) testing machines is just a part of the United States’ investment of over $4.2 billion in development aid in the last five years alone.  Together with the government of Ethiopia, the United States is helping millions of Ethiopians lift themselves out of poverty, supporting their health and wellness for a brighter future.

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.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia.