Laboratory reagents are required for the operation of various devices in medical laboratories. By setting up local production, these reagents are now manufactured locally in Tanzania. © action medeor / E. J. Rutahiwa Info Laboratory reagents are required for the operation of various devices in medical laboratories. By setting up local production, these reagents are now manufactured locally in Tanzania. © action medeor / E. J. Rutahiwa Tanzania Local production of medical products Programs Healthcare in Tanzania is inadequate in many regions - this is partly due to the poor condition of medical technology (e.g. blood analysis equipment) in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. There is often not only a lack of functioning medical equipment, but also a lack of consumables, which are essential for the operation of the equipment. Without consumables such as reagents - chemical substances that are needed to operate various medical devices - the devices cannot be used. Medical consumables are purely imported goods for Tanzania. Many products are supplied from India or China. This became a problem during the Covid-19 pandemic, as there have been major restrictions on global trade since the start of the pandemic. Supply chains have collapsed completely in some cases and prices for the international purchase of medical goods have risen sharply. The consequences are serious: healthcare facilities can no longer offer all services as they have no stocks, delivery times for supplies are very long and in some cases they can no longer afford imported medical products. The dependence of medical supplies on international suppliers is a problem for many low- and middle-income countries and underlines the importance of local production. As part of the develoPPP program of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), action medeor International Healthcare gGmbH is working to improve the supply of medical products in Tanzania with the support of the Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG). The three-year project will establish a local production facility in Kibaha, where low-cost reagents will be manufactured to ensure medical care in the country. During the project period, the reagents produced will be donated to private and church-based healthcare facilities to ease the financial burden on them during the ongoing pandemic. In order to raise public awareness of the relevance of local production, three innovation competitions will be held as part of the project in collaboration with a local training institution. The aim of these competitions is to encourage students to develop innovative ideas for a sustainable improvement of the healthcare system in Tanzania. Project descriptionProject Goal: Improving diagnostic services in healthcare facilities in Tanzania through the local production of essential medical consumables and raising awareness about the importance of local production in Tanzania's healthcare sectorProject Focus: Basic healthcare, medical technology, educationTarget Group: Direct: 86 hospitals receiving donated reagents to operate their laboratory equipment. 400 students benefit from one-day excursions to the production facility. Additionally, 30 students benefit from participating in an innovation competition. Indirect: Rural populations benefit from increased availability of diagnostic services. Project Area: Kibaha, TanzaniaProject Activities: Establishment of the reagent production facility in Kibaha, adhering to high environmental standards Production of reagents starting from the second project year Donation of reagents to 86 hospitals, including delivery and user training Donation of additional laboratory consumables worth €28,000 to 70 hospitals by the end of 2023 Free customer service provided by action medeor Tanzania One-day excursions to the production facility for a total of 400 students Organization of 3 innovation competitions in collaboration with the Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology (DIT) Donation of surplus distilled water to university laboratories Project Duration: November 2021 - March 2025Financial Volume: 1,383,398 EurosPartner Organisation: action medeor International Healthcare TanzaniaFunding: The develoPPP program of the BMZ implemented by DEGProject Number: 7000160 Your contact person Andrea Eller Project Coordinator develoPPP, Headquarters Tönisvorst Phone: 02156 9788-113 TPL_EMAIL This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.