Crown Agents USA (CA-USA) is pleased to announce the completion of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) funded Ethiopia Health Centre Renovation and Coordination project conducted between September 2006 and December 2009. For this project, CA-USA renovated 47 health centres and carried out engineering assessments of 100 medical facilities throughout Ethiopia.
The $4.28 million project is another example of CA-USA's work on important African health issues. Working closely with four of the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Ethiopia partners, the company developed effective renovation processes and leveraged supplemental resources. The project also helped develop modular designs for health centres to allow for future expansion as well as effective storage spaces and clearly defined treatment rooms for chronic diseases.
These renovations are significant as they increase nationwide access to chronic disease care and treatment. Through our assistance to Ethiopia's Ministry of Health and Regional Health Bureaus, Ethiopians requiring medical care, including HIV/AIDS care and treatment, now have improved access to higher quality healthcare facilities and services. For example, the Moro Health Centre, which provides services for more than 130,000 people, including many living with HIV/AIDS and undergoing antiretroviral therapy.
More specifically, these renovated health centres allow for the improved delivery of an antiretroviral treatment, funded by USAID, the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, and other donors, to treat the many Ethiopians in need of HIV/AIDS care and treatment services. Most of the renovations took place in the Amhara, Oromia, SNNP and Tigray regions along with Addis Ababa, all of which are categorised as PEPFAR priority regions.
Additionally, CA-USA supported 13 short-term advisors in the Ministry of Health. These experts provided engineering, management and contract administration support for the construction of 891 new health facilities.
Other important work included the development of a health center renovation tracking and mapping system which allowed for reducing design and implementation costs of renovating health care facilities and warehouses.
Through these innovations, CA-USA was instrumental in supporting the Government of the Republic of Ethiopia in improving the access and quality of its health care services.