Restoring ICU Care in Tigray
Beds getting ready for distribution in Mekelle
The war in Tigray, which lasted from late 2020 until November 2022, left hospitals across the region destroyed and displaced millions of people. According to UN estimates, more than 2 million people were uprooted from their homes and only 3% of health facilities in the region remained fully functioning.
This collapse struck a health system that had once been among Ethiopia’s strongest. Before the conflict, Tigray had a dense network of health posts, qualified staff and functioning referral pathways linking rural clinics to larger hospitals. The dismantling of this system left entire communities without access to lifesaving care when it was needed most. In this fragile recovery, the ability to restore both basic and advanced hospital services is crucial for helping communities rebuild safely.
Identifying the gaps
In the midst of this recovery, a container of ICU beds and mattresses made its way to Tigray. As many of our projects do, this began with a need articulated by those on the ground. The Tigray Regional Health Bureau and Harambee Collective worked together to assess hospitals, using HeRAMS data to identify gaps in intensive care capacity. Many hospitals either had no ICU at all or were relying on improvised equipment not suited for critical care.
Aid Pioneers connected this urgent need with partners who could respond. Financial backing came from the Asmlash Grant Foundation in the US, the Kasten Mann Stiftung in Germany, and runners and donors from our Marathon Program, making this project possible. Our long-term partner Project CURE provided beds at a GIK of $156,860, while Flexport covered logistics free of charge. This network together ensured that the container, cleared through customs and coordinated by Aid Pioneers, reached Mekelle in June 2025.
From Shipment to Services
The shipment contained 44 ICU beds and mattresses, which were distributed to 11 hospitals across the region, including Mekelle General Hospital, Adwa General Hospital and Ayder Comprehensive Specialized Hospital. For five facilities, this meant opening an ICU for the first time; for others, it meant replacing outdated or broken beds and bringing wards back up to standard. In total, an estimated six million people fall within the catchment areas of these hospitals.
Doctors and hospital leaders have described the change in stark terms. Dr. Filmon Mesfin, CEO of Mekelle General Hospital, told us:
“For the first time in its 70-year history, Mekelle Hospital will now be able to commence ICU services. This marks a historic milestone for our hospital and for the people we serve.”
The Human Impact
Maternal health in particular shows how deeply the collapse of the healthcare system has affected families. Before the conflict, Tigray recorded 186 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. In the years since, that number has climbed to 840, making it among the highest in the country. One of the leading causes is obstetric hemorrhage, a condition often survivable if treated in time, but deadly when access to properly equipped hospitals is cut off.
Against this backdrop, 25-year-old Amete Gebrehans’ experience illustrates what renewed ICU capacity means. After severe complications during childbirth, she was rushed to Ayder Hospital and spent more than two weeks in the new ICU.
“Without the ICU services and the new beds provided to the hospital, I would not have survived to see my child. Today, I am alive and grateful, holding my baby in my arms, because of the support that made this ICU possible.”
Her case, one of many, shows how equipment delivered from thousands of kilometers away can translate directly into lives saved.
A model that works
Projects like this highlight a core belief of Aid Pioneers: humanitarian aid becomes most effective when built on networks of trust, partnerships across borders and locally led planning. By combining the expertise, knowledge and resources of everyone involved, this project turned what might have been a single shipment into a structural improvement for Tigray’s health system.
These 11 health facilities now have renewed resilience. They can admit critical patients faster and ease overcrowding more effectively. Medical staff, too, reported a morale boost from working in the newly equipped wards. And as Ayder Hospital expands its role as a training site for health workers, the benefits ripple into the future.
The photos capture the arrival of the container in Mekelle and the preparations for distribution to the 11 facilities across Tigray. Photos by the Tigray Regional Health Bureau.
