UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, today handed over four mobile health and nutrition clinics vehicles and eight high-specification ambulances to the Health Bureaus of the Afar, Benishangul Gumuz, Gambella, Oromia, Sidama, and Somali regions. The mobile clinics and ambulances were procured at a cost of close to 118.8 million Birr, with generous support from the Government of Canada and the Gates Foundation.
The mobile clinics and ambulances will be deployed across the six regions to serve underserved and hard-to-reach communities, particularly those affected by humanitarian crises such as drought and conflict. The mobile units will deliver integrated reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health and nutrition services, targeting the most vulnerable women and girls. Linked to ambulances and existing health facilities, they will strengthen referral systems and ensure continuity of care.
Speaking at the event, the UNFPA Country Representative, Mr. Koffi Kouame, said, “These assets will directly support the national health agenda by expanding access to essential services, particularly in underserved and hard-to-reach communities affected by drought and conflict. They are designed to significantly reduce maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality where the need is greatest.”
Ethiopia’s Health Sector Transformation Plan prioritizes equitable access to lifesaving services, especially for underserved and geographically isolated populations. However, sociocultural barriers, long distances, limited road infrastructure, and high service costs continue to drive disparities in health outcomes across regions.
The newly delivered assets represent a critical investment in lifesaving care. By expanding access to sexual and reproductive health services, including gender-based violence response, UNFPA is helping to close persistent service gaps. The ambulances and mobile clinics will reinforce emergency referral systems, reducing preventable deaths caused by delays in accessing care for maternal complications, trauma, severe infections, malnutrition, and newborn conditions.
The mobile clinics and ambulances will enhance the capacity of static health facilities and create a more responsive, integrated, and resilient health system linking communities to comprehensive, timely care.
The handover ceremony was attended by senior officials from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance, and Regional Health Bureaus as well as the Embassy of Canada to Ethiopia, the Gates Foundation, and UNFPA.
For further information, please contact:
Dr. Alemayehu Bogale, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Emergencies Programme Analyst, UNFPA, Ethiopia; E-mail: bogale@unfpa.org
Abraham Gelaw, Communication Officer, UNFPA Ethiopia; Mobile: +251 911488627; E-mail: gelaw@unfpa.org
