Axum — The United States Government, through its Agency for International Development (USAID), inaugurated a newly renovated Mental Health and Psychosocial Support unit at Axum University's Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, that will support local communities impacted by conflict and the survivors of Gender-Based Violence. The unit was abandoned and looted during the war in Tigray, leaving community members in Axum and the surrounding areas with limited access to mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) services.
After consultation with local government officials and other key stakeholders, USAID supported the renovation of the unit, including the partitioning of 12 classrooms to give patients privacy, the replacement and repair of windows, doors and water taps, as well as repainting of the center. USAID supported the University's health care workers to conduct 10 community outreach sessions that highlighted the services the MHPSS unit will provide. During the inauguration ceremony, attended by Axum University President Gebreyesus Birhane and the Deputy of the Regional Health Bureau Tsegaye Berihun, USAID Mission Director Scott Hocklander handed over furniture, desks and other IT equipment to make the center fully functional.
"The trauma associated with living through conflict is often unaddressed," said Mission Director Scott Hocklander at the inauguration. "This trauma makes the challenge of recovering from a conflict much harder. Only by ensuring people are emotionally and psychologically equipped to handle post-conflict challenges can they contribute to a more stable and enduring peace," he said.
The USAID Ethiopia Support Program (ESP), which closes in February 2025, focuses on supporting a peaceful Ethiopia through fostering reconciliation and strengthening social cohesion. Through dialogue and assisting historically marginalized groups such as women, youth and community members with disabilities, the program has enabled citizens to get more engaged in community decision making. During the five-year life of the program, ESP partnered with 189 local organizations and launched 375 small grant initiatives that supported conflict resolution and provided psychosocial support to over 500,000 victims of conflict-related trauma.
To learn more about the #Ethiopia_US120 Years of Partnership visit: U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia and follow U.S. Embassy Addis Ababa Facebook, X and Instagram.
