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As part of the voluntary health service provided in winter, the launch program of biomedical engineers and technologists for the maintenance of medical equipment was held at the St. Paul Millennium Medical College in the presence of the ministers of health, the chief provost and management members of the St. Paul Hospital, as well as volunteers, importers and manufacturers.
Health Minister Dr. Mekdes Daba mentioned that health service is a voluntary service that gives life; In addition to the free health check-up and treatment services that are being done during the winter volunteer service, Bio Medical Engineers and Technologists said that joining the charity service will create more capacity and it is an honor to serve the country in all fields.
Dr. Mekdes said that Ethiopia expects a lot from us. She pointed out that in addition to the money saved by repairing used medical equipment and putting it into service, it is also a source of knowledge transfer and experience that will be useful for the future. She said that she would like to call on the professionals to leave a mark together by helping and strengthening the health institution that is serving us and lending a hand to support it. She also thanked the health sector professionals and workers who serve the society closely.
The President of the Association of Biomedical Engineers and Technologists, Engineer Asheber Worku, recalled that as an association, they did many voluntary works during the Covid-19 pandemic and now they are happy to participate in the winter volunteering and they plan to expand their experience to other regions.
17 importers, 7 manufacturers, 3 governmental organizations and 179 volunteers participated in the 23-day volunteer service. It is planned to save more than 47 million birr by repairing about 3000 medical devices in 13 hospitals in Addis Ababa.