Big News! CURE Children’s Hospital of Ethiopia has broken ground on a new surgical center and patient ward building that will dramatically increase the number of children CURE Ethiopia can serve.
The new building, which will take two years to construct, is the largest and most complex hospital expansion project in CURE’s history. It is also an answer to prayer for the nation’s 2.81 million children estimated to be suffering with life-limiting disabilities.
“Since opening our doors in 2008, CURE Ethiopia has been a trusted center of medical excellence,” said the hospital’s Executive Director, Adey Abate. “This new facility will meet modern international standards and expand our surgical and training capacity so we can provide the highest quality of medical and ministry care for the most vulnerable: children with treatable disabilities.”
Expanding Access and Care
As Ethiopia’s only specialized pediatric surgical hospital, CURE Ethiopia performs approximately 3,500 surgeries each year. With over 5,000 children currently on the waiting list, the demand for surgical services—especially for conditions like clubfoot, cleft lip and palate, knock knees, and burn contractures—continues to grow.
The three-story building will house an expanded outpatient department, five operating rooms, an 18-bed patient ward with a 4-bed critical care unit, and the ability to add two additional patient ward floors in the future. These upgrades will improve patient flow, quality of care, and allow the hospital to perform 5,000 surgeries annually, a nearly 40 percent increase over current capacity.
“In addition to serving more patients, the modern facilities will allow us to perform more highly specialized procedures to treat spinal conditions, save limbs of children that would otherwise need amputation, and restore the hands of children with underdeveloped thumbs and fingers,” said Dr. Tim Nunn, Medical Director at CURE Ethiopia.
The increased surgical volume will also provide CURE Ethiopia with greater opportunities to train approximately 200 national surgeons, anesthesiologists, and other health workers annually. By increasing the country’s qualified medical professionals through local training, CURE Ethiopia is not only healing today’s children but also building a stronger, more resilient healthcare system for the future.
Partnering to Serve More Children in Need
The expansion is made possible through the generous support from The Rees-Jones Foundation—a long-standing partner of CURE Ethiopia.
“My family and I love getting to support the healing of children in Ethiopia. It is one of the great privileges of our lives,” said Trevor Rees-Jones, co-founder with his wife Jan of The Rees-Jones Foundation. “The huge growth of this hospital and the clinics and outreach CURE does throughout Ethiopia inspires us to continue to grow our commitment to children with disabilities . . . Each and every one of these children is loved beyond measure by God, and each one deserves care.”
The total investment in this project is $12.5 million, with The Rees-Jones Foundation generously providing funding to construct and furnish the facility, while USAID is supplying medical equipment. Other strategic partners include the Tim Tebow Foundation (Spine Center), Build Health International (A/E Design), and African Mission Healthcare (Capacity Building).
“We aren’t just building a building—we are expanding our reach to serve more children who are quite literally waiting for care. And while they wait, their suffering continues,“ said CURE President/CEO Justin Narducci. “I couldn’t be more excited and more grateful to our partners who make this vision become reality. This project is vital to ensuring CURE Ethiopia can provide excellent care for generations to come.”
→ Learn about CURE’s network of eight children’s hospitals across Africa and the Philippines.
→ Explore CURE Ethiopia.
→ Make a gift that brings surgical care and the love of Jesus to children in poverty.
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