World Health Organization (WHO) has donated a field vehicle and an ambulance to Afar Regional Health Bureau. The ambulance was procured with funding from the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office as part of its support to improving essential health service delivery at war-affected health facilities in northern Ethiopia, with a focus on sexual and reproductive health services, and will be used for reproductive, maternal and child health services at Dupti Hospital, including for survivors of gender-based violence (GBV).

 "WHO is pleased to partner with UK AID to support improvement of essential health service delivery including sexual reproductive health services, clinical care of gender-based violence, mental health and psychosocial support for the people of Afar region."

Dr Dereje Duguma, State Minister of Health, commented during the handing over event, “We commend the colleagues who are on the ground serving our people in Afar, and we thank WHO Ethiopia for the continued technical and material support to strengthen the health system.”
 
The donation is part of WHO’s support to restoration of health facilities damaged by the conflict. The vehicles will contribute to the efforts to improve the public health services in the Afar Region.

The vehicles donated to the health bureaus will contribute to strengthening the health system and improving public health services in the region. As part of the support restoration of health facilities and services in these conflict-affected regions, WHO has deployed fit-for-purpose staff to support local authorities to revitalize and strengthen disease surveillance and reporting as well as sexual and reproductive health and GBV services at health facilities. 

WHO also provides medicines, medical supplies, equipment, and inter-agency emergency health kits to Afar region and trains frontline health workers to improve human resource capacity to provide clinical, mental health and psychosocial services to communities affected by conflict, including survivors of rape and GBV.