Imagine a hospital where the lights—and the medical imaging system—could go dark at any moment. For Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital (TASH) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, this wasn't a hypothetical scenario. It was a reality. Frequent power outages are more than an inconvenience; they're a direct threat to patient care.

When the hospital's PACS server crashed in 2024 after repeated power interruptions, nearly 60,000 patients lost access to critical medical imaging services. With generous support from the SIIMfund Global Ambassador Program, RAD-AID International was able to implement an impactful solution: a redundant backup server that ensures uninterrupted imaging access even when power fails. A few months ago in August, RAD-AID Dr. Aga Legesse, Radiologist Body Imaging Fellow and volunteer Dave Cundiff, Technical Support Engineer at Medweb Systems Inc. coordinated delivery of the server to Ethiopia and spent a week working with local IT specialists to configure and test the system with additional team members Dr. Ilili Amin, Consultant Neuroradiologist AAUCHS Addis Ababa University College of Health Science and Dr. Amir Alwan, Consultant Cardiothoracic subspecialist, Former Head of Radiology Department.

This project represents more than just hardware—it's a sustainable model for global health informatics. The hot-swap mirrored backup server, housed in a separate temperature-controlled data center with uninterruptable power supply, provides TASH with the resilience it desperately needed to serve its community and train the next generation of Ethiopian physicians. RAD-AID and Medweb continue to provide ongoing remote support, ensuring the investment delivers a long-term impact. RAD-AID International extends heartfelt thanks to SIIM for making this transformative project possible, along with gratitude to the University of Pennsylvania RAD-AID Chapter, Medweb, and the dedicated TASH team. Together, we're proving that global strategic partnerships can build healthcare resilience in resource-limited settings.

Through our partnership with RAD-AID International, SIIMfund Global Ambassador Program ensures a measurable difference in underserved communities worldwide—transforming how healthcare is delivered in regions with limited resources.