Finally! The new equipment and furniture for MNCH-SC has arrived
Hooray—after months of sitting in a shipping container, the anxiously awaited first shipment of medical equipment and furniture cleared customs in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, in December and arrived at Bushulo Health Center in January, at the start of the new year. The Bushulo team members are busy unpacking, installing and commissioning the equipment to each item’s new home. They are setting up the first operating theatre, labor and delivery rooms, and the OB/GYN and Pediatric inpatient wards. Medical team training has begun, and moving into the departments will happen very soon. Excitement is filling the air. Patients, staff and the local community are thrilled to see this amazing new facility become accessible for care. They understand the very positive impact this will have on the quality of care for thousands of mothers and children in the area. This will be the first Maternal Neonate and Child Health (MNCH) specialty center to open outside of the capital, Addis Ababa, and one of very few in the whole country. Once fully functional, the team at Bushulo will be able to safely manage high-risk pregnancies and newborns, helping to save even more lives and develop a center of excellence for maternal and neonate care in the country.
A formal inauguration is planned for early this March, after which health care services will commence. The second shipment of equipment is due in April 2023, which will allow the health center to equip the second operating theatre and fit out the remaining labor and delivery suites and the NICU department.