Re-evaluating Donations
It’s a practice we have gotten used to for so many years. In first world countries whenever an item isn’t of use, it is given away. People give used clothes, shoes, or even technology. There are always good intentions behind these actions, but do we ever stop to think about what aid we’re truly providing?
In particular, I would like to focus on medical equipment. Do you ever wonder where that old X-Ray machine that got replaced in your doctor’s office ended up? Chances are that it was donated to a health facility in a developing country. Many of these countries do not have the money to purchase such expensive equipment so logically this chain of events makes sense. The technology is needed, so why not give them what is not needed here anymore?
However, the World Health Organization estimates that 80% of medical equipment in some countries is donated from foreign sources, but only 10-30% of the equipment is ever put into operation (1). This figure may seem absurd because why would these countries not take advantage of such great resources that are available to them?
The answer lies in being able to see the whole process through. First off, the donations need to be shipped across the world and need to reach the destination. Organizations who provide these donations must figure out what equipment the hospitals or health facilities need in particular. They need to make sure these places have the necessary resources to carry out its operation and maintenance. The most important step is to train the local staff on how to use the equipment so they can operate it and also teach others how to use it. Many times, training manuals can be missing or in a foreign language so they can be useless. There are a lot of things that need to go right for every donation.
The problem is, these steps are not usually taken with donations. The medical equipment is sent over to countries like Tanzania where it may work for a short period but then becomes useless. It sits there without use. This has created a false sense of contentment with donations. Donations shouldn’t just involve the action of giving something. In the field of medical equipment, it needs to be a full thorough process that has both parties communicating and following up constantly.