UNFPA today handed over supplies to the One Stop Centre at the Berhale Primary Hospital in Zone 2 of the Afar Region which was inaugurated in the presence of a delegation of the Spanish Cooperation. The supplies handed over to the One Stop Centre were purchased as part of the UNFPA supported project to improve sexual and reproductive health and rights and well-being of women and adolescent girls in conflict affected areas in Afar Region generously funded by the Spanish Cooperation.    

The supplies are expected to contribute to enhancing capacity on Gender-based Violence response services addressing the needs of the most vulnerable women and girls in the conflict affected areas. In addition to the supplies handed over today, minor renovation is made on the damaged health facilities and capacity building training is provided to 76 frontline service providers to strengthen the service delivery capacity. In addition, medical equipment and supplies, consisting of 22 delivery beds, eight operating lights and tables, four anaesthesia machines, five portable ultrasound machines, and four hospital beds, will be delivered to the health facilities in Zone 2 of the Afar Region.   

Speaking at the hand-over ceremony, Mr Mario Fanjul, Head of　the Spanish Cooperation Office in Ethiopia, said “Working on reducing gender gaps and enhancing protection in humanitarian crises is a priority. Through our partnership with UNFPA, we supported close to 50,000 vulnerable women and girls with access to Sexual and Reproductive and Gender-based violence response services in conflict affected areas in the Afar Region.” 

In the Afar region, the multiple shocks resulting from floods, drought, inter-communal conflict, and desert locusts have made more than 80% of the population dependent on humanitarian assistance as of 2023. In particular, due to the northern Ethiopia conflict, the looting of medicines, medical equipment, and ambulances has severely impacted access to sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence information and services. 

“The supplies, which were handed over today, will essentially increase the availability of quality gender-based violence response services and enhance the efforts being exerted to realise UNFPA’s transformative results by 2030, namely ending unmet need for family planning; ending preventable maternal deaths; and ending gender-based violence and harmful practices against women and girls,” said Dr. James Okara Wanyama, Humanitarian Programme Coordinator at UNFPA Ethiopia. 

It is acknowledged that the support of the Spanish Cooperation has been very critical to UNFPA in its efforts to meet the increasing demand for life saving emergency sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence interventions in humanitarian settings. The Spanish Cooperation granted over half a million US dollars to UNFPA for the 18 months project aimed at improving sexual and reproductive health and rights and well-being of women and adolescent girls in conflict affected areas in the Afar region whose implementation commenced in October 2023.  

The project on improving sexual and reproductive health and rights and well-being of women and adolescent girls in conflict affected areas in Afar Region forms part of the contributions being made by the UNFPA 9th Country Programme in strengthening national and regional service delivery systems and capacity to provide lifesaving sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence information and services.

The hand-over ceremony was attended by high level officials from the Berhale Woreda Administration, Berhale Hospital as well as by senior officials of the Spanish Cooperation and UNFPA. 

Meanwhile, the delegation of the Spanish Cooperation visited in the Berhale woreda the operation of a mobile health team being supported by UNFPA through its partnership with the Maternity Foundation.