Equipping Rural Health Facilities with Life-saving Medical Resources

A mother in Ethiopia gets an ultrasound for the first time. Credit: JSI Ethiopia.

Over 75% of Ethiopia’s population lives in rural, hard-to-reach communities. Providing quality health services in these areas is often hampered by infrastructure challenges like power outages and lack of equipment.

Over the past three decades, JSI has worked in-hand with Ethiopia’s Ministry of Health to enhance primary health care access by strengthening care quality and improving infrastructure. In partnership with the Gates Foundation, JSI’s Strengthening Service Delivery (SSD) and Improve Primary Health Care Service Delivery (IPHCSD) projects collaborate to provide critical support to rural, primary care sites.

Equipping Health Facilities to Enhance Access to Quality Primary Health Care Services

In the last few months, JSI has equipped 23 health facilities in nine regions with 16 solar panel accessories and 25 portable ultrasound machines. One ultrasound machine was provided to a mentoring facility to support remote health facilities through an integrated, catchment-based clinical mentorship initiative. The remaining 24 machines were donated to priority higher volume, rural health centers. JSI also trained midwives to operate the equipment effectively.

This vital infrastructure support ensures more reliable reproductive, maternal, and child health services in previously underserved places. Sustainable power supply can ensure all health equipment, including those keeping cold chain products intact, are running as needed to provide appropriate patient care. Access to obstetric ultrasound has been shown to decrease risks of maternal mortality while increasing survival of infants.

In Gimbo Woreda, which serves a catchment population of 20,000, there was previously no access to ultrasound services at nearby community health posts. Pregnant women were routinely referred to a hospital 17 kilometers away, incurring both transportation costs and ultrasound fees. Now, clients from both the local and surrounding areas can receive the service free of charge at their centrally located Uffa Health Center.

ANC [antenatal care] follow-up has increased,” said Selamawit Anbesse, a midwife at Uffa Health Center. “We are planning to expand the service to nearby communities through outreach appointments, as the ultrasound machine is portable.”

Similarly, Genete Health Center in Legambo Woreda faced significant challenges. Pregnant women were referred to a private clinic, as their nearest public hospital is both distant and difficult to reach due to ongoing civil conflict in the area. Since acquiring an ultrasound machine three months ago, the center has seen a rise in ANC attendance and in earlier check-ups during pregnancy.

“Ours is one of only two health centers with an ultrasound machine in the entire woreda,” explained Ebtisam Adem, a midwife at Genete Health Center. “Two other centers now refer clients to us for ultrasound services, allowing us to serve women beyond our immediate catchment area.”

What’s Next?

These projects are continuing to collaborate around governance and investment in primary health access in rural areas, recently delivering 27 motorbikes to improve communication and collaboration among public and private facilities, strengthen referral linkages, and enhance health workers’ capacity & essential commodity exchange. Together, these projects are helping to ensure that every mother and child—regardless of where they live—has access to the care they need to survive and thrive.

About these projects:

SSD builds upon and leverages previous and current investments to improve the quality of last-mile, supply-side integrated health services that women, newborns, children, and youth need while IPHCSD aims to Optimize PHC platforms to improve the quality of essential health services. These projects are working together to ultimately strengthen healthy pregnancy outcomes and improve safe delivery of healthy infants.