Ethiopia
Medical Field Visit in Ethiopia
October 2010
Field Documentation: 2010
These photographs were taken during a medical field visit in Ethiopia in October 2010. At the time, Ethiopia had a population of approximately 90.5 million people. The country’s infant mortality rate was estimated at 59 deaths per 1,000 live births.
Access to maternal and clinical care remained limited, particularly outside major urban centers. National survey data from 2011 indicate that only 10 percent of births occurred in a health facility, meaning that most deliveries still took place at home.
The visit documented public-health and vaccine-related work associated with the International Vaccine Institute (IVI). IVI’s work extends beyond administering vaccines and includes disease surveillance, vaccine research and evaluation, vaccination programs, public-health partnerships, and scientific capacity development.
2010 to 2026: What Changed
The figures available in 2026 show substantial progress, although access to healthcare remains uneven.
Ethiopia’s population increased from approximately 90.5 million in 2010 to 135.5 million in 2025. During the same period, the estimated infant mortality rate declined from 59.2 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2010 to 34.5 in 2024.
The percentage of births occurring in health facilities also increased. National surveys recorded an increase from 10 percent in 2011 to approximately 48 percent in 2019. Significant geographic differences remained: in 2019, approximately 70 percent of urban births occurred in health facilities, compared with 40 percent of rural births.
IVI has continued its work in Ethiopia. Its documented programs have included typhoid surveillance, cholera monitoring, vaccine research, scientific training, and oral cholera vaccination campaigns conducted with Ethiopian public-health institutions.
