Assosa General Hospital Intensive Care Unit – Ethiopia

The overall objective of the project is to increase access to intensive care services for patients requiring more detailed observation or intervention, including support for post-operative care and those ‘stepping down’ from higher levels of care.

The project is based on the encouraging results of a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) project the Foundation implemented in three hospitals in the region in 2015, which resulted in a 50% reduction in in-hospital neonatal deaths. The Foundation supported the establishment of NICUs in Assosa, Pawe and Wenbera hospitals  as well as the construction of two maternal waiting rooms and a newborn care unit in three rural health centres. This project accounts for 50% coverage of NICUs in the region by ensuring the provision of intensive care services for neonates in three out of the total 6 hospitals in the region. As  a direct result, over 5,500 neonates and children received improved care and service from the NICUs and PHDUs since implementation.

Encouraged by the results and concerned by the hospital’s maternal death audit report that revealed 85% of maternal deaths could have been prevented if the hospital had an intensive care unit, the Foundation built a comprehensive ICU in Assosa General Hospital. Since the establishment of the ICU in September 2019 to December 2020, a total 331 patients were admitted and 265 of them were discharged fully recovered.