DAR ES SALAAM, Oct 6 (AFP) - Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa on Thursday launched a 35-million dollar HIV/AIDS testing and treatment facility in the country's main hospital.
The facility in Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) was supported by the Abbott Fund, an Illinois-based not-for-profit organisation, under a joint programme to modernize Tanzania's public health care facilities and systems and assist people living with HIV/AIDS and other serious illnesses.
"Through our successful partnership... we are providing Tanzanian health professionals with resources and tools to more effectively manage our health care system," Mkapa said.
With the new facility, more than 1,000 people can take HIV tests in an hour, according to MNH's head David Tregoning.
Some 82 other hospitals in the impoverished east African nation are being renovated under the partnership.
Of about 37.6 million people living in Tanzania, between 1.6 and two million people are believed to be infected with the virus that causes AIDS, according to official estimates.
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