Hunger crisis in Africa

Tanzania is the location for the first hematology
reagent manufacturing facility in East Africa. 
The facility was officially opened in Kibaha, a 
suburb of Dar es Salaam, in recent days. The local 
production of reagents for blood analysis is intended 
to strengthen the autonomy and independence of the Tanzanian 
healthcare system, this is the objective of the alliance 
organization of Aktion Deutschland Hilft, action medeor 
International Healthcare Tanzania, the operator of the system.

The Tanzanian branch of the German drug relief organization 
action medeor also received support from Germany: the Federal 
Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and 
the German Development Agency (DEG) supported the construction 
of the facility, as did various private donors.

Tanzania: Reliable diagnoses ensure successful treatment

“Reagents are chemical substances that are required to operate 
blood analysis devices in every laboratory,” explains CEO of 
action medeor. With the help of such analyzes, doctors can 
reliably diagnose various diseases, such as viral infections, 
chronic inflammation or anemia.

“Only a reliable diagnosis ensures successful treatment of these 
diseases. Therefore, the availability of reagents is an important 
aspect in healthcare,” explains the CEO.

So far imports from other continents

To date, hematology reagents are not manufactured in Tanzania, but 
are regularly imported from Asia - with high costs, long transport 
routes and a permanent dependence on international supply chains. 
The first local production facility in East Africa is now intended 
to counterbalance this. 

“We want to make reagents for blood analysis available from local 
production, significantly cheaper, more reliably available and of 
the highest quality,” the CEO sums it up. According to 
initial estimates, the production costs of the reagents in Kibaha 
will be only half the cost of the imported products.

International funding of the project

In line with the high health policy importance of the project, 
the German ambassador and the deputy health ministers 
of Zanzibar and Tanzania also accepted the invitation to the ceremonial 
inauguration of the production facility. Together with many other guests, 
they got their own impression of the production facility, which meets 
international quality standards and will soon be producing reagents in series.

Further donations came from the logistics company Jungheinrich, the 
Wissen fair and private donors. “This support will make it possible 
for us to even be able to provide the reagents free of charge until 
March 2025,” says the action medeor CEO happily. A total of up to 
86 selected hospitals in Tanzania, which care for up to one million 
patients, will benefit.

At the time the facility opened, the first reagents had already been 
produced in Kibaha - initially in small quantities, but series production 
is now scheduled to start in the next few weeks. This was preceded by two 
years in which the project was planned and gradually implemented.

action medeor runs a training center for medical technology 
and creates jobs

In addition, the alliance organization of Aktion Deutschland Hilt, 
action medeor, also operates a training center for medical technology 
on the same site in Kibaha. This has created more than 20 jobs in 
Kibaha, and another 20 are expected to be created in the next three 
years. "In our medical technology training courses, we show participants 
how to store and use reagents correctly and how to maintain and repair 
medical technology equipment," explains action medeor´s CEO.

The aim is to help reduce the downtime of diagnostic devices in 
hospitals. “We want to make a sustainable contribution to the health 
care of the Tanzanian population,” says the CEO, formulating 
the goal.

“No one should die from treatable diseases”

The now opened center in Kibaha with reagent production and training 
center is a significant step towards this. For action medeor it also 
means an expansion of the portfolio as a pharmaceutical wholesaler. As 
such, action medeor already supplies many hospitals in Tanzania with 
medication. In the medical technology sector, additional devices, service 
and maintenance have been offered for some time.

By expanding the range to include hematology reagents and training, 
action medeor now offers a special all-round package for the needs of 
local health stations. At the same time, this strengthens the mission of 
Aktion Deutschland Hilft and action medeor. It reads: “No person should 
die from treatable diseases.”


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