Skip to main content
MSF addresses immediate needs for clean water and sanitation in conflict affected areas of Tigray

Ethiopia

We work in 10 regions of Ethiopia to deliver healthcare to people through administrative barriers and ongoing insecurity.

Brutal killing of our colleagues in Tigray, in June 2021

On 24 June 2021, our colleagues María Hernández Matas, Yohannes Halefom Reda and Tedros Gebremariam Gebremichael were killed while providing life-saving assistance to people in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. No one has claimed responsibility and the circumstances around their deaths remain unclear. 

After more than one year of engagement with the Ethiopian authorities, we still do not have any credible answers on what happened to our colleagues that day. This brutal attack on three MSF staff is an acute reminder of the urgent need for all parties to provide assurances that humanitarian work can be carried out safely in Tigray and the rest of Ethiopia. We will continue to honour the memory of María, Yohannes and Tedros, and pursue accountability for their killings using all possible means and avenues.

Left to right: Yohannes Halefom Reda, a coordination assistant, was 31 years old, from Ethiopia; María Hernández Matas, 35, from Spain, began working with MSF in 2015; Tedros Gebremariam Gebremichael, 31, also from Ethiopia, had been a driver for MSF since May 2021.

Our activities in 2023 in Ethiopia

Data and information from the International Activity Report 2023.

MSF in Ethiopia in 2023 In Ethiopia, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) worked in coordination with the Ministry of Health to meet the medical needs of local communities, as well as refugees and displaced people.
Ethiopia IAR map 2023

In 2023, we delivered vital support in 10 regions of Ethiopia. However, insecurity and administrative barriers complicated humanitarian access in many parts of the country, affecting more than 20 million people in need of assistance*.

In Gambella, we provided general and specialised health services, focusing on improving quality of care for refugees from neighbouring South Sudan and the wider community. We also responded to a measles outbreak in the region, providing treatment and supporting a Ministry of Health vaccination campaign.

In Somali region, we carried out emergency activities to address high levels of malnutrition and outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, such as measles and cholera, and offered assistance to displaced people.

In Afar, we ran a treatment centre for patients with severe and complicated malnutrition, and supported the paediatric department of Dupti hospital. We also responded to a cholera outbreak in the region.

In South Ethiopia and Southwest Ethiopia Peoples’ regions, we ran mobile clinics and provided care for malaria and measles, as well as kala azar (visceral leishmaniasis), a neglected tropical disease, for which there is insufficient treatment, due to a lack of profitability.

In Amhara, where conflict is driving a surge in needs, we donated medical supplies and offered treatment for snakebites and kala azar. In addition, we responded to a cholera outbreak in a camp hosting Sudanese refugees, by providing water and sanitation.

In Tigray, we provided paediatric, maternal and malnutrition care, mental health support, and treatment for sexual and gender-based violence. We sent mobile clinics to hard-to-reach areas, and ensured access to clean water by repairing 600 water pumps in the region.

In Oromia, we responded to a cholera outbreak and donated medical supplies.

Calling for accountability for the death of our colleagues

On 24 June 2021, our colleagues María Hernández Matas, Tedros Gebremariam Gebremichael and Yohannes Halefom Reda were brutally and intentionally killed, while clearly identified as humanitarian workers, in Tigray. After extensive engagement with the Ethiopian authorities, we still do not have any credible answers regarding what happened to our colleagues. MSF will keep pursuing accountability for this incident, with the hope that this will help improve the safety of humanitarian workers in Ethiopia.


*OCHA: Ethiopia – Situation Report, 1 Feb 2024:
https://www.unocha.org/publications/report/ethiopia/ethiopia-situation-report-1-feb-2024

 

in 2023
 
Ethiopia: Tigray’s cities fill with displaced people fleeing insecurity
Ethiopia Tigray crisis

Tigray’s cities fill with displaced people fleeing insecurity and in need of aid

Voices from the Field 29 Mar 2021
 
TIGRAY | Selekleka Hospital
Ethiopia Tigray crisis

People left with few healthcare options in Tigray as facilities looted, destroyed

Press Release 15 Mar 2021
 
ETHIOPIA_Tigray_ShireIDP_IMG_3836
Ethiopia

People in Tigray “are suffering from a lack of medical care”

Project Update 5 Mar 2021
 
MSF begins supporting local healthcare facilities in eastern and central Tigray
Ethiopia Tigray crisis

Ethiopia: “If seriously ill people can’t get to hospital, you can imagine the consequences”

Voices from the Field 1 Feb 2021
 
Ethiopian Refugees Crossing: Hamdayet Entry Point
Ethiopia Tigray crisis

Providing assistance to people in Ethiopia and Sudan in wake of Tigray violence

Project Update 12 Jan 2021
 
MSF | Amhara Region
Ethiopia Tigray crisis

“They saw soldiers and civilians coming in, wounded or dead”

Project Update 18 Dec 2020
 
Ethiopian Refugees Crossing - Hamadayet Border
Ethiopia Tigray crisis

MSF providing medical care and assistance in Sudan to people fleeing violence in Ethiopia

Project Update 27 Nov 2020
 
TVT
Ethiopia

Displacement and humanitarian response in Ethiopia: challenges and dilemmas in complex crises

Report 3 Oct 2019
 
Ethiopia: The constant cycle of displacement
Ethiopia

The constant cycle of displacement

Project Update 12 Jul 2019