9 August 2022, Bahir Dar, Amhara Region: UNFPA, the United Nations Sexual and Reproductive Health Agency, today handed over three high-spec ambulances and emergency RH kits worth around 9.4 million Birr to the Amhara and Benishangul-Gumuz Regions. The ambulances and emergency reproductive health kits were purchased with the generous funding of the Royal Danish Embassy as part of its support to the UNFPA Ethiopia Country Programme.  

The ambulances that were handed over today would be deployed to strengthen the referral linkage for emergency obstetric and newborn care and other critical services at hospitals in woredas in the Amhara and Benishangul-Gumuz regions highly affected by conflicts. 

The Country Programme support the Royal Danish Embassy is currently providing to UNFPA Ethiopia is playing a pivotal role in strengthening the supply chain for sexual and reproductive health commodities and improving the provision and uptake of SRH services. It is also enhancing the multi-sectoral capacity to prevent, protect and provide response services for survivors of gender-based violence and the elimination of harmful practices against women and girls.  

Speaking at the hand-over ceremony, H.E. Kira Smith Sindbjerg, Ambassador of the Royal Danish Embassy to Ethiopia said “Emergency ambulance services are integral to providing a service for those with urgent and life-threatening health conditions.”

The existing health system and services in the conflict-affected woredas in the Amhara and Benishangul-Gumuz regions have been seriously debilitated by the situation impacting access to sexual and reproductive health information and services. “The ambulances that were handed over today will contribute significantly to efforts at ending preventable maternal deaths and ensuring that babies are delivered safely,” noted Sarah Masale, UNFPA Country Representative a.i. “I take this opportunity to thank our donors and partners who continue to provide the resources we need for these much needed services," she added.  

It is to be recalled that UNFPA handed over two ambulances recently to the Afar Region as part of a humanitarian-peace-development nexus programme it is supporting in the region with funding from Denmark. 

The hand-over ceremony was attended by high-level officials from the Ministry of Health and the Amhara and Benishangul-Gumuz regions as well as senior officials of the Royal Danish Embassy and UNFPA. 

For further information, please contact:  

• Alemayehu Bogale, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Emergencies Programme Analyst; UNFPA Country Office; Email: bogale@unfpa.org
• Shalom Aklilu, Programme Officer; Royal Danish Embassy; Email: ejihai@um.dk
• Paula Fernandez Seijo, Communication Specialist, UNFPA Ethiopia. Mobile: +251 935597136; Email: pfernandez@unfpa.org
• Abraham Gelaw, Communication Officer, UNFPA Country Office; Mobile: +251911488627; Email: gelaw@unfpa.org