Once the reason for procuring equipment is known it

Once the reason for procuring equipment is known, it is important to determine the types of
equipment that are suitable. In order to make the best use of scarce resources, hospitals
should be able to procure medical equipment of high importance. Since the market of
medical equipment provides ample of options, it is not easy task to select medical equipment.

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The equipment planning and procurement process should be based on national equipment
lists. In many countries, the Ministry of Health has developed guidelines or standard lists of
equipment for all levels of the health system. In Ethiopia, FMHACA is in the process of
developing list of medical equipment; however some hospitals have their own list of medical
equipment. A standard list is essentially a model list of equipment, based on the type of
health services a facility is expected to carry out (Temple-Bird et al., 2005b).
The EHRIG dictates each hospital to have model medical equipment list that describe the
ideal number and types of equipment required by the hospital. The list is determined by the
essential health service package which is developed by a multi-disciplinary team (FMOH,
2010b).
Medical equipment can be procured in three ways: purchasing, receiving donation and hiring.
In purchasing, the hospital buys the medical equipment using funds from government. In
donation, the pieces of equipment are chosen and supplied free of charge by non-
governmental organizations, charities, individuals, and private businesses. This can range
from gifts of small quantities of items to substantial equipment procurement projects.
Leasing, renting, – may be an alternative to outright purchase of equipment for or hiring
those with limited budgets or cash flow problems (Temple-Bird et al., 2005b).
Wrongly procured equipment is normally the beginning of maintenance problems, often
rendering the equipment non-functional. According to a study, lack of equipment
standardization, poor management information system, poor logistics of spare parts and lack
of ongoing training compound the problems of maintenance for technical personnel and
users. This concurs with the study by the World Bank (1993), which concluded that
standardization could simplify management and maintenance and reduce inventory costs
(Ogembo-Kachieng'a, 1999b).
Well managed equipment procurement can save both time and money, as a result of the
shorter time required to train operating personnel and to install and commission equipment,
lower frequency of breakdowns and accompanying inconvenience, shorter equipment down-

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time, smaller expenditure for parts and maintenance, and fewer preventive maintenance
requirements (Temple-Bird et al., 2005b).
The provision of modern health care is heavily dependent on technology, which includes
health care equipment. Because of economic constraints, the health sectors of many
developing countries have to rely considerably on donations of equipment. Most of the
developing countries acquire most of their medical equipment by donation. The studies show
that as much as 96% of medical equipment in developing countries is donated (MOHSW,
2008). Among the donated medical equipment, about 40% of medical equipment in the
developing world is out of services (Dzwonczyk & Riha, 2012).