Ethiopia: Firm Signs 25 Million Br HIV Equipment Support Deal. 12/7/10
For the next five years Becton Dickinson will provide maintenance services for the 150 FACS Count and 15 FACS Caliburs laboratory devices it sold in Ethiopia
By Eden Sahle
12 July 2010
The Ethiopian Health and Nutrition Research Institution (EHNRI) signed a five-year medical equipment maintenance agreement worth 25 million Br with Becton Dickinson International on Wednesday, July 7, 2010.
For the next five years Becton Dickinson will provide maintenance services for the 150 FACS Count and 15 FACS Caliburs laboratory devices it sold in Ethiopia, which are used to test the CD4 count in HIV-positive blood, free of charge, according to the agreement. The company will also provide training for local technicians on how to maintain and fix the equipment.
"The training and maintenance will be conducted by seven engineers from Kenya," Nick Bright, regional director of Becton Dickinson International East Africa, told Fortune.
Although Becton Dickinson has been providing maintenance for equipment and training of local technicians for the past three year, this is the first time it signed an agreement with the EHNRI to continue to do so for a fixed period of time.
Ethiopia is the first East African country to receive this kind of support from Becton Dickinson, Bright said.
This laboratory equipment is used to test the CD4 count of HIV-positive people to determine whether they should start taking antiretroviral medication as well as to determine their progress.
"The maintenance of this equipment will ensure that patients get uninterrupted laboratory service," Tsehaynesh Mesele (MD), director of the EHNRI, said.
The maintenance support will go to all public hospitals that have the equipment, both at the regional and federal levels. The five-year support agreement will also reduce the cost of spare parts, according to the medical director.