Tanzania

Rebuilding Health Infrastructure in Tanzania

Tanzania is one of the African countries that have been hardest hit by the HIV/AIDS crisis, requiring a response that is national in scope and focused on making an immediate and dramatic impact. Since 2001, The Abbott Fund formed a unique and collaborative public-private partnership with the Government of Tanzania to support and strengthen the country's aging health care system. The program involves a holistic approach to testing, treatment, capacity building and community support to care for orphans and vulnerable children.

With more than $40 million invested to date, The Abbott Fund is helping to modernize Tanzania's public health systems and infrastructure. A critical first step was the renovation of Tanzania's national hospital. Located in Dar es Salaam, Muhimbili National Hospital is the country's leading teaching and reference hospital. Our support established a new 40,000-square-foot (3,700-square-meter), three-story outpatient center with 34 patient examination rooms, a pharmacy and training facilities for medical students and health care professionals, which serves hundreds of Tanzanians daily.

A new full-service laboratory facility, built with contributions from The Abbott Fund, provides world-class diagnostic testing. The new facility and updated instrumentation have increased chemistry diagnostic testing capacity a hundred-fold (from 75 to 8,000 tests per day) and hematology testing capacity by four-fold (from 100 to 400 per day). This quantum leap in diagnostic testing capacity is supported by modern computerization that ensures the timely delivery of test results to the physician's desktop. Employing advanced computer technology, health care records and case management at Muhimbili Hospital is significantly more efficient, increasing capacity and directly impacting the care and treatment of patients.

• In addition to work at Muhimbili, The Abbott Fund initiatives support 80 hospitals and rural health facilities, renovating buildings, donating equipment and providing financial support.
• Since the inception of the Tanzania program, The Abbott Fund has served more than 150,000 patients and families; and nearly 10,000 health care worker trainings have been conducted to support HIV/AIDS testing, counseling and treatment.
• The Abbott Fund is deepening and expanding its commitment in Tanzania. In 2007, the first The Abbott Fund office outside of our headquarters in Lake County, Illinois, will be opened in Dar es Salaam to oversee philanthropic investments, support the continuing dialogue with the Government of Tanzania, and identify strategic and innovative approaches to the health and social challenges posed by HIV/AIDS.

Volunteer Spotlight: Bob Downey

"It's often hot, and sometimes there is no running water or electricity, but I love the new experiences volunteering brings, and that's what keeps me motivated," said Bob Downey, speaking about his volunteer work in Africa, Haiti and in the United States after Hurricane Katrina. As an Abbott employee, Downey has found a way to do something that many people envy – combining the work he loves with the satisfaction of sharing his expertise with those who are most in need.

Over the past few years, Downey's professional and volunteer career have merged in Tanzania, where he helped to set up the new reference laboratory at Muhimbili Hospital in Dar es Salaam, and is currently helping to refurbish a regional laboratory in Arusha. His work in these laboratories is part of a $40-million-plus commitment by The Abbott Fund to modernize health care infrastructure and systems in Tanzania.

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