Ethiopia

We have provided humanitarian programs to Ethiopian communities, IDPs and refugees in more than 60 woredas (districts) in nine regions: Afar, Amhara, Benishagul-Gumuz, Gambella, Oromia, Sidama, Somali, Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR) and Tigray. In 2025, we provided lifesaving services to nearly 3.2 million people.

Nutrition

International Medical Corps supports the Ethiopian Ministry of Health’s (MoH) nutrition programs in conflict- and drought-affected parts of the country, including Amhara, Oromia and Tigray regions, and in five refugee camps in Somali region.

We help refugees and host communities by providing community-based management of acute malnutrition through health systems, mobile health and nutrition clinics. Our capacity-building training sessions focus on infant and young-child feeding practices in emergency contexts, quality screening and treatment of acute malnutrition in children under 5, and pregnant and lactating women (PLW). Working through available health facilities and community nutrition centers, we provide a combination of growth monitoring, nutrition counseling and micronutrient supplements, and provide routine mother and infant checkups and other outpatient visits.

In 2025, we screened 650,307 children under 5 and 218,305 PLW. Of these patients, our teams treated 74,370 children under 5 for moderate acute malnutrition and 11,400 children under 5 for severe acute malnutrition without medical complications. We also treated 46,808 PLW who were suffering from moderate acute malnutrition. Additionally, International Medical Corps provided 161,573 caregivers of children under 2 with vital information about infant and young-child feeding practices, including nutrition awareness sessions for mothers on different topics such as the importance of breastfeeding, dietary diversification using local foods and targeted nutritional support.

Our nutrition activities include:

• disseminating infant and young-child feeding information, including the distribution of education and communication materials;
• screening for, and treating, severe and moderate acute malnutrition;
• training healthcare workers on the management of severe acute malnutrition and public health emergencies, including admission and discharge criteria, and reporting and recording guidelines; and
• providing logistical support to transport therapeutic foods, medications, and other essential items to health centers and health posts.

Food Security and Livelihoods

We provided integrated nutrition and food security services to reduce mortality and morbidity associated with severe acute malnutrition across four drought-affected regions. To address the impact of conflict and drought in refugee camps in Amhara, Oromia, Somali and Tigray refugee camps, we support a range of activities that promote and protect local agriculture and livestock and build the resilience of vulnerable families. Our activities include multi-purpose cash transfers; vegetable, fruit and poultry production; fresh-food vouchers; general food distribution and meals at schools; providing crop seeds and farming tools; and supporting livestock vaccine supplies and equipment. In 2025, International Medical Corps provided food assistance to 193,771 people.

International Medical Corps also trains community volunteers—mostly women—on nutrition education, screening and follow-up for malnourished children, and on essential nutrition actions, including exclusive breastfeeding, appropriate complementary feeding and other relevant preventive measures. We train members of mother care groups (MCGs) to actively promote nutrition and healthy behavior by visiting households and conducting education sessions.

Through our livelihood interventions, we have provided an integrated approach to improve the nutrition status of children through the Positive Deviance Hearth Approach. We have supported 560 households with livelihood activities, including income-generating activities, vegetable gardening and livestock. We have provided livestock support for underserved families with 1,000 goats in Oromia, 600 chickens in Wolayita and 1,200 chickens in Tigray.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

International Medical Corps implements comprehensive WASH programs in Afar, Amhara, Somali and Tigray regions as part of our ongoing programs at IDP sites, refugee camps and host communities. We rehabilitate water systems, build emergency latrines, promote safe hygiene practices, provide lifesaving NFIs, improve management of solid waste in health facilities and IDP sites, and train people in their communities.

In 2025, International Medical Corps reached 904,629 people across Ethiopia with comprehensive WASH services. Our sanitation efforts included the construction or rehabilitation of 97 latrines. To ensure sustainable access to clean water, International Medical Corps constructed or rehabilitated 139 water points. We also distributed more than 37.5 million liters of clean, safe water. We also continued to expand our reach and impact by deploying dedicated standby teams to remote and hard-to-reach areas, delivering integrated WASH, nutrition and health services to communities in urgent need.

International Medical Corps also advanced its commitment to renewable energy by upgrading water systems with solar power capacities of up to 135 kW, enabling the operation of 75 kW surface pumps at Kebri Beyah and other project sites. These innovations not only reduce operational costs but also ensure a reliable and environmentally sustainable supply of safe water for thousands of people.

Violence Against Women and Girls

We operate VAWG prevention and response programs in two refugee camps in southeastern Ethiopia, serving Somali refugees in seven targeted woredas in Tigray region and in four locations in Humera, Tsegede and Wolkait woredas. Our VAWG-related services include psychosocial support and case management. We rehabilitate women’s and girls’ safe spaces (WGSS) to provide quality service to survivors. We also train service providers in basic case management skills, dignity kit distribution, safety audits (to mitigate risk) and community network support. We train refugee volunteers and influential elders in basic concepts of preventing and treating VAWG, preventing sexual exploitation and abuse, and providing referral pathways. We promote survivor-centered care by training healthcare providers in the clinical management of rape (CMR) and integrating VAWG services into health facilities. To support community awareness of VAWG prevention, response and risk mitigation, we disseminate critical lifesaving information on available services, explain why it’s important for survivors to report and seek services in a timely manner, and hold “coffee and tea” discussions, adolescent-girl-focused sessions and home visits to disseminate information. We also use the SASA! approach to challenge harmful social norms and raise awareness about the importance of timely reporting and access to services. Through partnerships with government and other implementing partners, we strengthen referral systems to health, legal and protection services.

In response to the northern Ethiopia conflict, our programming expanded to the Afar, Amhara and Tigray regions. In 2025, we reached 481,815 people through prevention and response activities.

Our services include psychosocial support, case management, and the construction and rehabilitation of women’s and girls’ safe spaces (WGSS). We have distributed dignity kits, conducted safety audits and collaborated with community support networks.

Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS)

International Medical Corps delivers comprehensive MHPSS services to conflict- and drought-affected communities, including refugees and returnees, to reduce psychological distress and improve mental well-being. Our services range from basic psychosocial support to specialized mental health care, aligned with international standards such as the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) emergency MHPSS guidelines.

We have implemented MHPSS programming at five camps for Somali refugees in Dollo Ado. The program continues to provide emergency mental health services and supports government efforts to integrate MHPSS services into existing primary healthcare services. In 2021, in response to the Tigray conflict, we expanded our MHPSS programming through mobile teams in Afar, Amhara and Tigray. We also extended MHPSS services to Oromia, in response to internal conflicts and drought.

We provide comprehensive services to reduce suffering and improve well-being. We offer activities in line with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee MHPSS guidelines for emergency contexts. And we also address a wide range of needs, including basic support, community and family support, and focused non-specialized and specialized services.

In 2025, International Medical Corps reached 121,779 people with services including clinical care for mental, neurological and substance use conditions, individual and group counseling, psychological first aid (PFA) and case management. We also trained 10,741 health workers and community leaders to facilitate psychosocial, social, educational, or recreational activities.

To foster healing and community resilience, we operate nine recreational centers in Dollo Ado and Gambella and have recently constructed two additional centers in Amhara and Tigray. These centers support learning, social connection and skill-building. So far, 126,876 people have participated in various psychosocial activities.

Since May 2024, International Medical Corps has co-chaired the national MHPSS Technical Working Group alongside the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI), leading coordination efforts through national and regional review meetings, conferences, and joint planning sessions with government and NGO partners.

Healthcare

Since 2015, International Medical Corps has supported local public health authorities in the Afar, Amhara, Oromia, Somali, SNNPR and Tigray regions in efforts to address emergency health issues caused by drought, conflict and other crises. We have strengthened the government’s capacity to prepare for, investigate and respond to disease outbreaks and emergency health needs in crisis situations. We deploy mobile health, nutrition and surge teams to provide essential primary healthcare services; strengthen health systems; procure and distribute medicines, medical equipment and medical supplies; and provide technical and logistical assistance.

To build local healthcare capacity and strengthen coordination between government-operated healthcare units, we provide training on public health emergency management and related topics. We also conduct multi-sectoral rapid assessments, helping to design evidence-based programs while maintaining the capacity to deploy mobile health and nutrition teams to remote areas. We support routine immunization campaigns for measles and other illnesses and respond to outbreaks of emerging diseases.

In 2025, International Medical Corps reached more than 1.4 million people in Ethiopia with health interventions. We also responded to disease outbreaks—including Marburg virus disease, cholera and malaria—across Ethiopia, demonstrating our commitment to addressing urgent public health needs. Our targeted outbreak response efforts reflect International Medical Corps’ proactive approach to controlling outbreaks of infectious disease and strengthening health systems despite ongoing crises. Our emergency health teams provided lifesaving primary healthcare services, including maternal and child health and mental health services, by deploying mobile teams in hard-to-reach and conflict-affected areas.

In 2025, we trained hundreds of health workers, including doctors, nurses, pharmacists and health extension workers, in integrated disease surveillance and public health emergency management (PHEM), vaccine preventable diseases (VPD), rapid response teams (RRT), integrated management of neonatal and child illnesses (IMNCI), infection prevention and control (IPC), expanded program of immunization (EPI) and pharmaceutical supply chain management (PSCM). We also supported health facilities with essential pharmaceuticals, equipment and supplies, including IPC supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE), and provided logistic support for last-mile delivery of medical supplies. We rehabilitated seven damaged health facilities and strengthened referral systems, helping to restore health services and strengthen the health system.

International Medical Corps has also actively worked on strengthening government capacity to prepare for, investigate and respond to disease outbreaks and address emergency health needs. We have actively responded to multiple outbreaks of cholera and measles in different regions, supported routine and supplemental immunization campaigns, and enhanced the real-time surveillance and rapid response capacity of health structures. Our support for preparedness capacities included malaria and Mpox.

Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health (MNCH) and HIV/AIDS

With an estimated 267 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births, Ethiopia has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. International Medical Corps is committed to safeguarding the reproductive health of Ethiopian women and girls. Since 2013, we have implemented MNCH and HIV/AIDS-related emergency and development programming, and strengthened local capacity, providing lifesaving healthcare in Afar, Gambella, Oromia, SNNPR and Somali regions.

In 2025, International Medical Corps also provided maternal health services, including antenatal care for 28,491 pregnant women and skilled delivery for 21,962 women. Adolescents were also reached through peer-to-peer edutainment and life-skills sessions covering topics including the prevention of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, preventing harmful practices like early marriage and female genital mutilation, adolescent and maternal nutrition, and cervical cancer screening and management. Our community outreach services raise awareness and mobilize the community through house-to-house visits, tea-talk sessions and community groups.