TOAMASINA – The United States is saving millions of Malagasy lives by helping Madagascar's Ministry of Public Health improve its immunization program and increase vaccinations for children.
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director Anne N. Williams provided 1 million USD in commodities to the Minister of Public Health, Prof. Zely Randriamanantany on April 29 at the Atsinanana Regional Health Office, in eastern Madagascar. The donation will improve supply chain efficiencies and make temperature-sensitive vaccines available to people in remote areas.
“This equipment will help improve the storage and distribution of all the vaccines needed to vaccinate some of Madagascar’s most vulnerable populations and help the Ministry of Health achieve its objective of stopping the resurgence of epidemics such as measles, polio, and COVID-19 for a healthier population”, Ms. Williams said at the donation event.
Cold chain equipment like generators, inverters, electric and solar refrigerators, cold storage units, test kits, medicines, and protective equipment will improve the storage, transportation and the delivery of high-quality vaccines and scale up COVID-19 rapid testing. The equipment will benefit more than 2.5 million people – including pregnant women and children under five – in eight of Madagascar’s 23 regions.
Through these investments, the United States is helping Madagascar build a health system more resilient to shocks, including outbreaks like COVID-19, measles, and polio, and fully integrate COVID-19 vaccinations in the health system’s immunization program.
USAID partners with Population Services International (PSI) through the Improving Market Partnerships and Access to Commodities Together (IMPACT) project to provide this assistance. In collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health, IMPACT supports the supply chain for health commodities and malaria prevention. IMPACT also assists the Ministry’s COVID-19 response and vaccination program through coordination, monitoring, evaluation, communication, and logistics.
The United States stands side by side with Madagascar like ‘mpirahalahy mianala’ to help improve the health and well-being of the Malagasy people. Through USAID, the U.S. government remains the largest bilateral donor to Madagascar’s health sector.
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