In a world where war, disease, poverty, and persecution create significant barriers to well-being, Medical Teams International (Medical Teams) is committed to breaking through those barriers. Since 1979, Medical Teams has been providing life-saving medical care for people in crisis in more than 58 countries, building resilient, healthy populations.
Medical Teams began providing life-saving medical support in Ethiopia in April 2021 and is currently serving a catchment population of 465,752 refugees, internally displaced people, and host communities in the regions of Amhara, Tigray, and Afar.
Medical Teams International delivers compassionate, respectful, and life-saving healthcare to vulnerable populations through direct health services, health system strengthening and community health care system approaches, maximizing our impact through strategic partnerships and holistic care.
The conflict in northern Ethiopia began in November 2020 and has since created a full-scale humanitarian emergency. Many health clinics across the region have been damaged, destroyed, and looted. Conflict and violence displaced more than 5 million people in 2021, and there has been a large influx of Eritrean refugees into the Amhara region of Ethiopia over the past two years.
Medical Teams is reducing the vulnerability of refugees and conflict-affected individuals by improving access to sexual and reproductive health, protection information, and assistance and psychosocial support. Medical Teams is strengthening the protective environment, resilience, health and well-being of refugees and conflict-affected communities through community-based support and strengthening of local actors and service providers.
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Our Work in Ethiopia
In late 2020, when war broke out in northern Ethiopia, Medical Teams quickly recognized the extreme impact the conflict would have on Ethiopians. In the face of brutal violence and a lack of resources like food and medical care, thousands of brave Ethiopians left home for their own survival. In early 2021, we began working alongside our trusted partners to care for Ethiopians in both the Tigray region and in Sudan, where many people sought refuge.
Today, we provide loving, life-saving medical care at 10 locations in Ethiopia in an increasingly complicated humanitarian situation. Our program in Ethiopia is led by the talented and determined people in the communities we serve.
Our mobile health and nutrition teams treat everything from diabetes to malaria. They vaccinate children, care for expecting mothers, and provide medical service, including treatments for common diseases.
We are also focusing our efforts on helping local health care facilities affected by the conflict restart services - by sending supplies, equipment, and doing repairs - so that communities have a sustainable health care system after we’re gone. We screen children and pregnant women for malnutrition and provide supplementary nutrition.
Our community health workers help educate their neighbors about important health topics and perform basic medical care. We’re blessed to work alongside the resilient people of Ethiopia, who continue to show incredible courage in the face of extraordinary hardship.
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Areas of Work
- Access to primary health care
- Sexual and reproductive health care
- Support for safe labor and delivery
- Prenatal and newborn care
- Children’s health and vaccinations
- Screening and treatment of malnutrition
- Gender-based violence prevention
- Communicable diseases management
- Chronic disease management and treatment
- Emergency preparedness and response
- Community health education and promotion
- Community health for disease prevention
- Mental health and psychosocial support
- Support for local health care systems
Who We Serve
The conflict in northern Ethiopia’s Tigray, Amhara, and Afar regions have forced more than 5 million Ethiopians to leave their homes behind to seek refuge in safer parts of the country. Medical Teams cares for a population of about 155,000 people in Ethiopia. Many of the people we serve in Ethiopia have experienced life-threatening or distressing events.
The need for basic resources is high, particularly in northern Ethiopia. Families struggle to get enough food, clean water, or medical care. Even for people who are able to leave the conflict-affected regions, the refugee camp services are often overwhelmed. In addition to Ethiopians moving within their own country, there are also about 1 million people from neighboring countries seeking refuge in Ethiopia.
Serving alongside courageous communities in Ethiopia is a powerful reminder that all people have a right to loving, life-saving medical care.
Addressing Gender-Based Violence
In Ethiopia, there are approximately 4.5 million IDPs and nearly one million refugees and asylum-seekers from neighboring countries. Many who have been forced to flee their homes have also experienced GBV, but it is difficult to quantify prevalence, because incidents often go unreported.
To address sexual violence, Medical Teams focuses on the areas of prevention, risk mitigation, and response. Prevention is centered on advocacy and awareness raising activities designed to reach boys and men. Risk mitigation includes providing safe spaces and “dignity kits” for girls and women of reproductive age. Treatment response involves survivor-centered case management, clinical management of rape (CMR) and psychosocial support in the Medical Teams supported one-stop centers, and linkage for other services.
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Dignity kits play a critical role in safeguarding the hygiene, health, and well-being of women and girls during humanitarian crises such as conflict, natural disasters, or forced displacement. In crisis settings, where access to basic hygiene supplies is often disrupted or completely unavailable, dignity kits become a crucial intervention to reduce risks related to poor menstrual hygiene, exposure to infections, and increased vulnerability to violence against women and girls.
The main contents of the kits include washable pads, underwear, hair oil, comb, soap, flip-flops, towel, and pajama/local dress (composition of the kits was determined through consultations with local women and other stakeholders).
The Akuda Tumet Inclusive Health Center
Medical Teams International introduced the newly constructed Akuda Tumet Inclusive Health Center in Ethiopia as part of the Ura Refugee Site in the Ura district of the Benishangul-Gumuz region. (UNHCR established the site in June 2024 for people fleeing the conflict in Sudan.) The center will serve a population of approximately 45,000 refugees and members of the host community.
“This facility was designed and built in a very short amount of time, because the critical health care needs of the growing refugee population are urgent,” said Roger Kadima, Ethiopia Country Director for Medical Teams. “We built it in just three months, alongside our respected partners, UNHCR, Refugees and Returnees Services - RRS, and Benishangul-Gumuz Regional Health Bureau (funded by the European Union through UNHCR). It offers a total of 13 beds for post-natal and emergency admissions."
The center provides maternal and child health services like antenatal care, post-natal care, delivery, and a routine immunization program. The facility employs 16 qualified health professionals including midwives, health officers, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory technicians, and environmental health and sanitation officers. It conducts immediate and weekly disease surveillances with strong public outreach health activities by community health workers. Its 24-hour electric power supply has a backup generator.
Current Challenges
Prior to 2020, Ethiopia was a relatively stable country. Today, the context in-country has changed dramatically. Though the war is officially over - ending in November 2022 - there is still conflict in some regions. Health care services in the northern part of Ethiopia are limited. In some places, food and clean water can be difficult for people to get.
In addition to conflict, climate crises like drought have also affected Ethiopians. Environmental factors compound the challenges faced by people in their everyday lives. It can also make outbreaks of diseases like cholera more common.
Finally, security is still a concern in Ethiopia. Accessing communities who need care continues to be difficult for humanitarian organizations like Medical Teams.
Our Team in Ethiopia
Our team in Ethiopia consists of about 200 staff members at 10 different sites across the country. Most of our full-time staff are from Ethiopia. We work with our staff and community leaders to shape our programs in Ethiopia, making sure they’re responsive to the needs of the people we serve.
Note: The numbers and statistics reflected on this page were collected from October 2021 - September 2022.
“Our work in Ethiopia is providing essential, life-saving care to displaced Ethiopians and Eritreans, as well as the communities hosting them,” said Martha Holley Newsome, President and CEO of Medical Teams International. “This region has been ravaged by war and violence, and the resulting needs are widespread."
| Category | Data |
|---|---|
| Catchment Population Served | 465,752 refugees, IDPs, and host communities |
| Operating Locations | 10 sites across Ethiopia |
| Staff Members | Approximately 200 (mostly Ethiopian) |
| Targeted Regions | Amhara, Tigray, and Afar |
Medical Teams International is committed to compassionately caring for communities in Ethiopia, providing hope and restoring strength to those affected by conflict and crisis.
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