Ethiopia has inaugurated the US $3.6m Shashemene Hospital and handed over to the Oromia regional health bureau.
U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia Michael A. Raynor, Minister of Health, Dr. Amir Aman, and Vice President of Oromia National Regional State, Teyiba Hassen, jointly inaugurated the new 1800 square meter facility, which will provide a complete and coordinated care to enhance a patient-centered experience and expand access to health care for the general population including the prevention, care and treatment of HIV/AIDS services.
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Shashemene Referal Hospital
Shashemene Referal Hospital was originally constructed as a Tuberculosis and Leprosy center in 1940 by the Sudan Interior Mission (SIM). It was converted into a hospital in 1976.
Construction of the new outpatient department annex was done by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of America with funding from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
The facility has a new state-of-the art outpatient department with maternity ward and emergency unit with operation room. It features designated areas for ultra-sound, waiting rooms, and clinical rooms. The labor and delivery services is also integrated with family planning, voluntary counseling and testing, antiretroviral therapy (ART), and antenatal care for prevention-of-mother-to-child-transmission.
The hospital will also serve also serve as an emergency center to address the acute medical needs of around 8 million people in nearby communities in the Oromia and Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples regions.
The Shashemene Hospital project follows earlier projects funded by CDC including the construction of six regional public health laboratories, nine outpatient centers, and a national public health training center in Addis Ababa as part U.S.
