Building Hope, Better Health in Tanzania

Sustainability|Apr. 07, 2017

We've been asking people around the world what one thing makes them feel most fulfilled, and giving is among the top three answers they consistently share. Abbott is bringing this value to life by working to improve healthcare facilities in Tanzania, helping thousands of people across the country live their fullest — and healthiest — possible lives.

Everyone deserves the chance to be as healthy as they can be. In the East African country of Tanzania, a lack of healthcare infrastructure made it difficult for people in that country to get the care they needed.

For more than a decade, Abbott and its philanthropic foundation, the Abbott Fund, have worked closely with the Government of Tanzania, investing more than $115 million to strengthen the country's healthcare system. This unique public-private partnership is finding sustainable solutions to critical healthcare challenges — elevating testing, treatment and care for people across the country, helping them live healthier, fuller lives.

45,000 EMERGENCY ROOM VISITS EACH YEAR

Abbott's help was instrumental in establishing Tanzania's very first emergency medicine facility in 2010. Every year, roughly 45,000 people now make use of the facility, with critically needed care provided by highly trained specialists.

1,000+ PEOPLE CARED FOR DAILY

At a modern outpatient center built by Abbott and the Abbott Fund at Muhimbili National Hospital, the country's leading healthcare facility, more than 1,000 people receive a wide range of care — from eye tests to diabetes monitoring — every day.

23 MODERNIZED HOSPITAL LABS

Abbott has worked with the Tanzanian government to establish a network of state-of-the-art labs to provide testing across the country. As a result, wait times for results have been cut from weeks to just hours — which means better treatment, faster.

52,000 HOURS OF SUPPORT

Expert Abbott volunteers, including more than 50 specialists from the company's diagnostics business, have shared their scientific and medical knowledge with healthcare professionals in Tanzania, providing training and mentoring for local lab and hospital teams. But the learning's not just one-way. The Abbott professionals who spend weeks in Tanzania also benefit from this cultural and technical exchange, growing from this unique experience, bringing back insights to their lives and careers.

How has giving back to the community — whether the one where you live, or elsewhere in the world — helped you live more fully?