Our Mission

HANDS believes that with collaboration and exchange of best practices with the local medical professionals in Ethiopia, we can accomplish our mission to reduce infant mortality and morbidity rates.

What We Do

HANDS mission is to be a major player in the efforts to decrease the neonatal mortality and morbidity rates in Ethiopia.
Current statistics show that Ethiopia has an overwhelming health care need:

  1. The neonatal (0-1 month olds) mortality rate in the US is about 4/1000 live birth while in Ethiopia it is 28/1000.

  2. The rate of deliveries attended by skilled personnel is just 6% in Ethiopia compared to 99% in the U.S.

  3. The infant (0-1 year olds) mortality rate in US is about 6/1000 live birth while in Ethiopia is 79/1000.

  4. The still birth rate in East Africa is 27/1000 live births. 33% of the stillbirths occur during labor.

  5. The main cause of neonatal death in Ethiopia is infections, prematurity and birth asphyxia. In US the main cause is congenital or chromosomal anomalies and extreme prematurity.

  6. The number of medical doctors available to provide care per 10,000 people is less than 0.5 in Ethiopia vs. 27 in US.


Short Term Objectives

To improve the care provided by existing Ethiopian neonatal intensive care units (NICU) through the capacity building of NICU personnel and provision of tools and equipment.

Long Term Objectives

To improve the survival of newborns in Ethiopia through a state-of-the-art NICU in Ethiopia, capacity building for NICU staff, development and application of neonatal curriculum and implementation of improved tools and techniques in collaboration with other like-minded organizations.

Volunteer medical teams, each comprised of a doctor, a nurse, and a respiratory therapist, travel to Ethiopia twice a year. Each team stays for a 2 weeks duration and provided health care services and education.  HANDS goal is to continue these trips and increase the frequency of the medical teams traveling to Ethiopia to six times per year to ensure continued and progressive support. In addition HANDS will continue to collect donations of neonatal equipment and education materials to send to Ethiopia.