Turkish agency donates health equipment to Ethiopia

By Tufan Aktas

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia

Turkey’s aid agency has donated critical medical equipment for pregnant women, mothers, and children in eastern Ethiopia, officials told Anadolu Agency on Tuesday.

Fazil Akin Erdogan, who heads the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency’s (TIKA) office in the capital Addis Ababa, said that the donations to the maternity and pediatric center include a modern ultrasound device and patient beds, among other items.

During the handover ceremony, a local health official in the town of Kebri Beyah said, “Before the town didn’t offer ultrasound because we didn’t have the machine. This is the first of its kind in the town.”

The donation should help raise both the quality of service and the number of patients that can get treatment.

Fartum Hasan Ali, the town’s vice mayor, said, "This equipment is lifesaving. We would like to thank TIKA."

TIKA has been actively providing development and humanitarian aid. It chipped in with vital donations after last month’s trash dump landslide disaster on the outskirts of Addis Ababa that killed more than 113 people and left many others homeless.

The Turkish aid agency also financed the restoration of the ancient Nejashi Mosque in northern Ethiopia, and the former Ottoman consulate in eastern Ethiopia.

Erdogan said his agency will continue to donate health and educational aid to Ethiopia.