U.S. Donates HIV/AIDS Laboratory Diagnostic Machines to General Hospital Dutse
May 14, 2009

U.S. Ambassador Robin Sanders donating HIV/AIDS laboratory equipment at the Dutse General Hospital. | FULL SIZE

U.S. Ambassador Robin Renée Sanders, on behalf of the people and government of the United States, has donated two HIV/AIDS laboratory machines with consumables to the General Hospital in Dutse, the Jigawa state capital. The hospital already has a Cyflow machine, used for monitoring body immunity levels or CD4 count in HIV+ patients, which was supplied by the state government.

The machines donated are Reflotron Plus System and accessories and Hemocue, which will enable proper monitoring of HIV/AIDS patients who are on treatment with antiretrovirals and those provided with care and support. The machines will enhance the hospital’s capacity for quick, on the spot analysis of blood samples for diagnosis of HIV-related disorders in patients, especially pregnant and nursing mothers.  Previously, the hospital sent blood samples to other comprehensive sites within the state and Kano supported by the Institute of Human Virology, Nigeria’s AIDS Care and Treatment in Nigeria (ACTION) Project with funding from the people and government of the United States through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDs Relief (PEPFAR) program in Nigeria. “With these machines, the hospital’s burden of transporting samples to distant sites for analysis will be outdated and the efforts of the State Government in providing the Cyflow machine will be complemented,” said the Ambassador.

Ambassador Sanders visited the hospital’s Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) service center, which is supported by the U.S. Government through the ACTION Project, and also donated audiovisual equipment to the hospital for PMTCT awareness information, communication and education. She had the opportunity to interact with several HIV positive women who benefited from PMTCT services in the hospital and gave birth to babies without the virus.