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Tanzania Care is a partnership between the Abbott Laboratories Fund and the government of Tanzania to modernize the country's public health care infrastructure and improve services and access to care for people living with HIV/AIDS and other serious illnesses. Implemented by Axios, an organization dedicated to improving health care in developing countries, Tanzania Care will cover multiple hospitals and laboratories in Tanzania; increase training of medical workers and laboratory personnel; and expand access to voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) for HIV. Significant progress is expected after October 2005 with the opening of a new three-story outpatient department and state-of-the-art clinical laboratory facility at Muhimbili National Hospital in the capital, Dar es Salaam. The new facilities will dramatically improve the care of people with HIV/AIDS and other chronic diseases, benefiting up to 1,000 patients a day.
This multi-year, multi-million dollar initiative more specifically includes:
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A new outpatient clinic at the national hospital that includes a HIV day care center, teaching facilities, and counseling/psychosocial support facilities;
- Renovation and upgrading of the national hospital's clinical laboratories;
- Creating management structure, department organization, budget process, planning cycle and financial controls within the national hospital;
- Training health care staff at the national hospital in HIV care and treatment; reviewing and updating the curriculum for physician, nursing and other paramedical staff at the Muhimbili Medical College;
- Upgrading information technology, security, waste management and health information systems throughout the national hospital, and;
- Increasing the capacity of Tanzania's 21 regional hospitals to provide VCT services as well as prophylaxis and treatment of opportunistic infections.
As part of Tanzania Care, Abbott Laboratories is providing the time and talents of employee volunteers. These specialized volunteers are lending technical support in the areas of engineering, waste management, health care management and information technology.
Tanzania Care is designed to directly address the need to build a sustainable and modern health care infrastructure that enhances HIV care, an issue that is a challenge for nearly all countries in Africa. Many countries, including Tanzania, need support for more specialized staff, modern medical curricula, adequate facilities and resources for patient care, which will allow them to more readily provide quality testing, counseling, treatment and services for people living with HIV/AIDS. Ultimately, the overarching goal of Tanzania Care is to create a public/private model that can be adapted by other companies and organizations working to fight AIDS in the developing world.
Care is to create a public/private model that can be adapted by other companies and organizations working to fight AIDS in the developing world. |
