First-of-its-Kind Facility Offers Critically Needed Services

(ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia) March 25, 2025 – Medical Teams International, a global health and humanitarian relief organization, is pleased to introduce 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. It is the first health center in the area to provide comprehensive health services, replacing inadequate shelters set up during the initial months of the response.

“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). We are deeply grateful to our partners, staff, and the community.”

The new health facility is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, providing primary health care with outpatient consultation for both adults and children under 5, as well as an emergency outpatient department and emergency admission services.

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. With a viable facility offering health care in a manner that reflects basic human dignity, it is anticipated that more women will choose to give birth at the health center rather than at home where they encounter increased risk.

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. The center also offers a sex-segregated and disability-friendly latrine and uses sophisticated waste management services.

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About Medical Teams International
Founded in 1979, Medical Teams International provides life-saving medical care for people in crisis, such as refugees, internally displaced persons, and survivors of conflict zones and natural disasters. Daring to love like Jesus, we care for the whole person and serve all people. Learn more at medicalteams.org and on social media using @medicalteams.

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