Ethiopia, Japan sign grant agreement of $3.5 mln for procurement of mobile clinic vehicles
Ministry of Finance (MoF) and Japan’s government on Wednesday signed a grant agreement of $3.5 million for the procurement of mobile clinic vehicles.
The agreement was signed between Semereta Sewasew, State Minister of Finance and Ito Takako, Ambassador of Japan to Ethiopia at the headquarter of the MoF.
Under the grant, ten mobile clinic vehicles will be procured to be utilized by hospitals in Afar, Benishangul-Gumuz, Gambella, Somali, and Southwest regions. The regions identified for support by the Ministry of Health, have poor health service coverage and higher maternal mortality rates compared to other regions.
The mobile clinic vehicles will be equipped with ultrasound, electrocardiograph and basic medical equipment, and are expected to benefit around 800 thousand pregnant and lactating women in the five regions.
“The support is very crucial to expand health services,” Semereta said, adding that, “Japan has been providing an Official Development Assistance for many years.”
At the Eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 8) held in Tunis last month, Japan confirmed its commitment to support achieving universal health coverage in African countries, said Ito Takako, adding, “This grant aid is one of the initiatives that puts Japan’s commitment into action by cooperating in the promotion of universal health coverage, the development and strengthening of the healthcare security system.
The health sector is one of the priority sectors for Japan’s development cooperation in Ethiopia, she said.
