HIV soars after deadly war in Ethiopia’s Tigray, with US aid cuts not helping

(26 Mar 2025)
RESTRICTIONS SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mekele, Ethiopia – 13 February 2025
1. Various of patient walking into the pharmacy and receiving ARVs
2. SOUNDBITE (Tigrinya) Rigat Bishaw, Clinical Management of Rape Expert:
++PARTLY OVERLAID BY SHOT 1, 3 AND 4++
"Before the war, many individuals living with HIV felt they had made significant progress in their recovery. However, the conflict has resulted in widespread sexual violence against women, leaving them increasingly vulnerable to various diseases, particularly HIV/AIDS."
3. Close-up of signage written (English) One Stop Center
4. Various of Rigat Bishaw, CMR (Clinical Management of Rape) expert during a consult with a wartime survivor of sexual assault who is living with HIV
5. Wide of Tigray Regional Health Bureau Office
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Amanuel Haile, Tigray Regional Health Bureau Managing Director:
++PARTLY OVERLAID WITH SHOT 7, 8, 9, 10 AND 11++
"Quite a substantial number of health facilities in Tigray were damaged. According to the study we did together with the World Health Organization and the Ministry of Health, called the HeRAMS, Health Resource and Services Availability Monitoring System, 86% were partially damaged, and 3% were completely damaged. And if we look at medical equipment, 72% of the health facilities had partial damage or looting of their medical equipment, and 27% had complete damage."

ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE: Mekele, Ethiopia – 20 October 2021
7. Various of burning industrial factory, vehicles passing, people running towards burning industrial factory, fire blazing, black smoke rising after an air strike
8. Injured people walking away from area of attack

ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE: Mekele, Ethiopia – 18 October 2021
9. Tilt down of building
10. Shattered window glasses and bullet hole on building

ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE: Humera, Ethiopia – 1 May 2021
20. Various of damaged tank on the road side
STORYLINE:
Tigray was once considered a model in the fight against HIV. Years of awareness-raising efforts had brought the region’s HIV prevalence rate to 1.4%, one of the lowest in Ethiopia.

Then, in 2020, war began between Ethiopia’s government, backed by neighboring Eritrea, and Tigray fighters.

Now, the average monthly positive rate has “increased considerably”, said Akberet Mengesha, the Anti-retroviral therapy Department Coordinator at the Ayder Referal Hospital in Mekele, Tigray region.

Sexual violence was widespread in the two-year conflict, which also had mass killings, hunger and disease. As many as 10% of women and girls aged between 15 and 49 in the region of 6 million people were subject to sexual abuse, mostly rape and gang rape, according to a study published by BMJ Global Health in 2023.

At the same time, Tigray’s health system was systematically looted and destroyed, leaving only 17% of health centers functional, according to another study in the same journal.

According to a report done by the Tigray Regional Health Bureau in conjunction with the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization, 86% of health facilities in the region were “partially damaged”, and 3% were “completely damaged.” As a result, 90% of sexual violence survivors did not get timely medical support.

“Additionally, the risk of mother-to-child transmission, which had previously been declined to zero, has changed dramatically,” said Mengesha, adding that the rise in diagnosis in children under two was “a direct result of interrupted access to crucial medications during the conflict.”

AP Video by Amanuel Gebremedhin Birhane

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