No Light. No Water. No Chance.

Without electricity or clean water, childbirth becomes a life-or-death gamble.

In rural Ethiopia, miles of rugged terrain born’s survival. The journey to a clinic often happens on foot. It happens in the dark. It happens when every second counts. For many women living in the country’s West Omo Zone and Bench Sheko Zone, access to a clean medical facility or a skilled provider is not a given. Village Health Partnership works where the pavement ends. Our mission is to end maternal and neonatal deaths. We are building the systems that make medicine possible.

In 2023, the national maternal mortality rate in Ethiopia was 195 deaths per 100,000 live births. This number suggests progress. Yet it masks a crisis in the country’s rural zones. In some southern districts, the rate reaches as high as 1,142 deaths per 100,000 live births. One in 21 women faces a life-time risk of dying during childbirth. This is the reality where skilled care is scarce. Less than 30 percent of rural women have access to a trained provider during delivery. Most births happen at home. They happen without medical support.

Most maternal deaths are caused by hemorrhage, hypertension, infection, obstructed labor, unsafe abortion, and indirect causes but are preventable with timely care, water, and power.

Again, these deaths are preventable. The risk of death persists for newborns. In 2025, Ethiopia’s neonatal mortality rate was 23.2 per 1,000 live births. This crisis is tied to infrastructure. Clean water is a missing piece: 60 million people lack a basic supply, and unsafe water and poor hygiene are linked to 60–80 percent of communicable diseases. We cannot win this battle without fixing the pipes and the power.

A mother with her newborn at the Jomu Health Center in southwestern Ethiopia.

Village Health Partnership’s efforts are centered around a regional network of care. At the heart of our system is the Mizan-Tepi University Teaching Hospital in Mizan-Aman. As the primary referral facility for Ethiopia’s southwest region, it handles the most critical cases. We have constructed a dedicated maternity waiting area to ensure women have a safe place to stay while awaiting delivery. From this hub, our work extends deep into the rural highlands.

A surgical operating room and labor and delivery rooms need more than a trained doctor or nurse midwife. They need light. They need clean water as much as they need a skilled hand. We are installing solar power to keep the operating rooms functioning during midnight emergencies. This power also keeps incubators running for infants who cannot wait for the sun. In many of the health centers we support, electricity is unreliable. Often, it is nonexistent. At Bachuma District Hospital in the West Omo Zone, we recently completed a major solar installation to ensure reliable energy for lifesaving surgeries. At Maji District Hospital and Siz District Hospital, we installed solar-powered pumps to provide clean water. When the grid fails, our systems ensure that a surgeon is not operating by the light of a cell phone. Safe water is a fundamental right for every patient.

The momentum is building. Our 2025 trip report shows the project’s deep expansion across the southwest. We are on the ground in the communities of Tum and Kuju. Tum Health Center serves as a shining example of how our initiatives can transform a local facility. In Kuju we have installed a solar-powered pump for the well system to ensure the clinic never runs dry. We are also planning to scale up to meet the needs of towns including Tulgit, Kibbish, Jeba, and Gabisa. We are in the Bench Sheko Zone at Siz District Hospital and the Siz Health Center, and in the West Omo Zone at the Chebera Health Center, where clean water and sanitation projects remain a primary focus.

Nate Stormzand, an engineer and former Peace Corps Volunteer, is a clear example of the effectiveness we see in the field. As a volunteer with Village Health Partnership, Nate has brought a level of dedication that changes lives. He navigates the mud and the mountains of the West Omo Zone to ensure our projects stay on track. Nate understands that sustainable change requires being present. He spends his days listening to the needs of local health workers at places like the Jemu Health Center. He ensures that our technical solutions fit their reality. His ability to build trust with the community in Tum has allowed our programs to take root in ways that a distant organization could never achieve. Nate does not just oversee projects. He walks the same paths as the patients we serve.

Our partnerships extend even further through the Screen, Transport and Treat program. We partner with Aira Hospital in the West Wollega Zone to treat complications like obstetric fistula. We built a specific gynecology ward and operating room there to provide specialized care that is often unavailable in remote zones. This ensures that even the most complex injuries receive the attention they deserve.

Beyond the technical hurdles, the work we do is deeply human. We see the faces of mothers who have traveled hours for a checkup. We see the exhaustion of health workers who lack the basic tools to do their jobs. Providing a solar panel or a water pump is not just about equipment; it’s about giving a medical team the chance to succeed when the stakes are highest. In the trenches of rural Ethiopia, there are no easy days. Roads wash out. Supplies are delayed. Needs are constant. Yet we continue because we know that these interventions work.