Among health facilities damaged and destroyed as a result of the conflict in the Afar region, only eight of them have started functioning, according to the regional health bureau. Sixty-nine health facilities are still in need of repair and reconstruction, the health bureau said.

Yassin Habib, head of the Afar regional state health bureau, told the Ethiopia Insider website that the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has destroyed seventy-seven health facilities in the region. According to Yassin, fifty-five health posts and twenty-one health stations were destroyed and looted. The 55 health posts have not yet started providing any services, the head said, despite the region’s efforts to rebuild the medical facilities.

Health stations in four of the six zones in the Afar region have been badly damaged, which drastically reduces the region’s access to desperately needed emergency medical care, Yassin said. The region is working hard to rebuild the facilities by identifying and prioritizing significant health needs and locations that could reach the majority of the population, he added. Four of the seven health stations, Telalak, Jara, Dewe, and Dorbisi started functioning partially after the Addis Ababa City Health Bureau contributed supplies, according to the head. The Harari region, for its part, has provided medical equipment and kits to the Kasagita, Hadele Ila, and Daraitu health stations.