U.S. Embassy

Addis Ababa, March 23, 2010 —Ethiopia Coordinator for the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Dr. Carmela Green-Abate, presented Ethiopia’s first digital x-ray machine to officials of the Ethiopian Ministry of Health and Black Lion Hospital at a handover ceremony to mark World Tuberculosis (TB) Day on March 24 and accelerate action against TB through innovation.

The U.S. $1.4 million donation in x-ray equipment is funded by PEPFAR with technical support from the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Supply Chain Management System (SCMS) project and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Ethiopia. The equipment expands the capacity of hospitals around the country and consists of a digital x-ray machine, ten conventional x-ray machines, and a mobile x-ray machine.

This equipment will help to detect TB infection as part of the Ministry of Health’s renewed efforts to decrease the burden of TB among HIV-infected patients. According to the World Health Organization, Ethiopia’s current TB/HIV co-infection rate stands at 26% and the country ranks 7th out of the top 22 high TB burden countries in terms of total number of TB cases reported.



The digital x-ray machine at Black Lion Hospital is the first of its kind in Ethiopia’s public health system and will detect TB infection in patients. The state of the art machine will also be used to train staff in the use of the technology. Digital x-ray machines have the added advantage of producing high quality images, eliminating the need for cumbersome and costly films and storage space, and can operate in normal room lighting as opposed to ‘dark rooms’ required for conventional x-ray machines.

The hospitals receiving the ten conventional x-ray machines and equipment are: Chiro Hospital in Asebeteferi, Jugal Hospital in Harar, Sawla Hospital, Bona Hospital, Bule Hora Hospital in Hageremariam, Metema Hospital, Mehalemeda Hospital, Gambella Hospital, Alamata Hospital, and Zewditu Hospital in Addis Ababa.

The mobile x-ray machine, installed in the Missions of Charity Hospital, is the first x-ray machine for that hospital. The machine’s mobility allows for x-rays to be taken at the patient’s bedside, reducing the need to move sick patients to a stationary x-ray room.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, Dr. Green-Abate said: “This year’s theme of ‘innovation’ speaks to the need for a new way forward. Until we have effectively brought TB under control in Ethiopia, it will undermine the great strides Ethiopia has made in rapidly expanding HIV care and treatment. I am very pleased that this x-ray equipment will strengthen the health system’s capacity to detect and stop TB and reduce mortality associated with HIV.”

Along with Dr. Green-Abate, USAID/Ethiopia Deputy Mission Director Ms. Nancy Estes, Dr. Seymour Williams of CDC/Ethiopia, Dr. Abraham Endeshaw of the Federal Ministry of Health, Chief Executive Officer of Black Lion Hospital Dr. Aster Tsegaye, and Country Director of SCMS Ethiopia Hany Abdallah participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony.