Ethiopia Humanitarian Emergency

Women and girls in Ethiopia are navigating a crisis defined by distance, danger and deepening service gaps. Conflict, drought and climate-driven floods continue to displace communities, while checkpoints, damaged roads and rolling power outages cut off access to clinics. Routine pregnancies become emergencies when facilities lack supplies or light; overcrowded shelters heighten the risk of gender-based violence. Movement restrictions make referrals for obstetric complications or post-rape care uncertain. Millions will require services for sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence as systems stagger under overlapping shocks. Adolescents, displaced women and people in remote areas feel the pressures most acutely.

UNFPA is bringing care closer to those who cannot reach it. Mobile health and nutrition clinics link hard-to-reach communities with antenatal care, family planning and emergency referrals, while safe spaces offer confidential case management, psychosocial support and clinical care. Pre-positioned reproductive health supplies help facilities operate through outages and access constraints. Yet even as clinics, mobile units and safe spaces provide a network of support, insecurity, inflation and staffing gaps disrupt access. Keeping mobile teams on the road, referral pathways open and safe spaces functioning remains essential. Alongside life-saving services, UNFPA works with national and regional authorities, including local midwifery associations, to restore and strengthen health facilities so that care continues amid shocks.