Donation of $4.5 Million in Medical Supplies and Technology to Strengthen Madagascar’s Health System

On January 17, 2020, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) transferred a significant amount of essential medical equipment and supplies to Madagascar’s Ministry of Public Health. The goods, valued at $4.5 million, include essential supplies to better equip health facilities to improve the quality of care and the patient’s experience.

The donation, made through the USAID-funded, MSH-led ACCESS Program, in partnership with Project C.U.R.E., includes two containers of medical equipment for health centers in Atsinanana and Analanjirofo regions. 

In the upcoming months, 14 more containers—which include hospital beds, blood pressure cuffs, stethoscopes, IV poles, examination lights, biohazard waste cans, and more—will be shipped to Madagascar to supply health centers in each of the 10 regions where the ACCESS Program operates. ACCESS also donated 2,500 smartphones, 460 tablet computers, and 22 laptops to strengthen Madagascar’s health information systems.

The tablet computers and laptops are destined for primary health centers, district hospitals, and district health offices, while the smartphone kits will support the Ministry of Public Health’s mobile health strategy. Under this strategy, community health volunteers use a special smartphone application, piloted by MSH in 2017, to improve the quality of the services they provide and quickly and reliably send health data in their communities back to the Ministry.  

“We are proud to support Madagascar’s health workers and the Malagasy people they serve by helping to improve the quality of their services and the quality and timeliness of health data being received by the Ministry,” said USAID Madagascar Mission Director John Dunlop. “These mobile technology materials we are providing will increase the exchange of information and communications.”

This important donation is extremely timely, as Madagascar’s health infrastructures lack even the most basic equipment. A number of innovative approaches are also being implemented to take the health information system to the next level, and the ACCESS program is supporting the process with modern equipment and ongoing capacity building to create sustainable impact.

“These tools and equipment are part of our strategies to support the Ministry of Public Health in its efforts to modernize Madagascar’s health care system at all levels. Furthermore, these items will certainly foster health care seeking behavior in target communities,” said John Yanulis, Director of the ACCESS Program.