Strategic Placement of Medical equipment to Maximize Patient Impact

Getting appropriate, working medical equipment to health care facilities in developing countries is very
challenging and harder to accomplish than many realize.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that as much as 80 percent of medical equipment in
some countries is donated or funded through foreign sources, but only 10 percent to 30 percent of the
donations are ever put into operation. According to Dr. Robert Malkin, a professor of biomedical
engineering at Duke University, “There is no question that you can donate effectively,” However, he
adds, it takes a lot of effort to make sure everything is done right. The supply of quality used medical
equipment is plentiful from various partners and resellers. The need and demand are also strong in low-
middle income countries. The challenge is how to make the match between the available equipment
and the hospitals in need.

The Dalton Foundation has been intentionally seeking to solve this problem is some very creative ways
so that all equipment shipped gets installed and utilized appropriately for years to come at that impact
on patient care is being measured. The Medical Equipment Modernization and Standardization Program
was launched in 2019 and has several key components.

We’ve been working on these programs for several years now and are ready to expand into new
countries. To learn more about this program contact our biomedical coordinator, David Kuhajda –
dkuhajda@relinkmedical.com.

If your program or facility can benefit from being a part of this program, please fill out our medical
equipment request form to see if your organization may qualify to participate.