Rehab Centres Buckle Under Strain as Health System Sidelines the Disabled

Nov 16 , 2025. By YITBAREK GETACHEW ( FORTUNE STAFF WRITER )

Rehabilitation centres, especially those delivering prosthetic, orthotic, and physical therapy services, are facing an unprecedented convergence of crises, exposing the fragility of the country’s social safety nets. Federal lawmakers have openly criticised the Ministry of Health (MoH) for neglecting these institutions, citing deteriorating service quality, long waiting times, and mounting operational dysfunction.

Rehabilitation centres are facing a crisis of capacity and care, buckling under a rising tide of demand, dwindling human resources, and increasingly unaffordable material costs.

The growing dysfunction of these critical institutions, particularly those providing prosthetic, orthotic, and physical rehabilitation services, has drawn the scrutiny of federal legislators, who on November 13, 2025, blamed the Ministry of Health (MoH) for neglecting the centres it oversees.

The Standing Committee for Health, Social Development, Culture, & Sports Affairs, chaired by Tadele Burka (PhD), sounded a public alarm in the halls of Parliament, characterising the state of the rehabilitation centres as "ownerless." Members of Parliament (MPs) criticised the Health Ministry for failing to incorporate data on these centres into its reports, claiming the information submitted was often out of touch with operational realities.

Yalemwork Yitayew, Head of Bahidar physical rehabilitation centre told Fortune that two of the physical rehabilitation centres in Dessie and Bahir Dar, Amhara Regional State, are experiencing an average waiting time of around 12 days per patient. In more complicated cases, the delay could stretch to as long as 40 days. Yalemwork conceded that the same long-standing problems of shortages of materials, inadequate staff, low budgets, and a growing number of people seeking services have plagued the sector for years.

Federal health officials are developing a digital reporting system to enhance data accuracy, strengthen inspection procedures, and establish a central database. In the 2024/25 fiscal year, 24,038 people received technological support out of a target of 24,900, while 2,031 newly listed patients remain on the waiting list. Inside the centres, the situation has seen even more strains.

According to Yalemwork Yitayew, who heads the Bahir Dar Physical Rehabilitation Centre, occasional assistance from the Regional Health Bureau and the Women & Social Affairs Bureau was not nearly enough to make a difference. She recognised that limited human capacity, rising material costs, and inadequate funding have made it challenging for the facilities to provide proper patient care. As a result, patients are increasingly being turned away.

The centre in Dessie has 52 staff members, while Bahir Dar has 47, but Yalemwork admitted that this is still too low to meet expectations. Many of the workers are volunteers. The two centres share only two old vehicles, which limits mobility in a region where transportation is essential for staff and patients.

“Challenges are continuing even though we have some support,” she told Fortune. “The fact that we've only old cars makes it difficult to transport patients or even reach the centres.”

Her concerns were echoed by Mahteme Haile (PhD), an MP representing a constituency in Dessie who serves in the Standing Committee. According to her, the Ministry had submitted its quarterly reports on time but left out key components, including construction progress plans. She argued that rehabilitation centres seem to have been forgotten by the health authorities.

“We've confirmed this through our oversight work,” she said.

Mahteme recalled warning four years earlier that unless the centres were adequately supported, they would eventually cease operating due to a lack of essential supplies and equipment. The situation, she said, has now become worse. She described facilities lacking basic items such as bedding and mental healthcare services. She insisted that since physical rehabilitation centres fall directly under the Ministry of Health, its officials should “support them, give attention, and make improvements.”

For the Health Ministry's officials, rehab centres now receive more support than before. The sector, with more than 21 rehabilitation centres nationwide, about half of which are run by the government and the rest by non-governmental organisations, previously had no dedicated desk and was led by assigned focal persons. The Ministry's rehabilitation work is managed through a formal structure.

According to Simret Amha (MD), an expert working at the Ministry’s Speciality & Rehabilitation Desk, rehab services were initially outside the health sector and supervised by other federal institutions. Following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Women & Social Affairs in 2018, the transition into the health sector began and was completed by 2019.

"Since then, the Ministry has focused on professional training, technical support, and routine inspections of regional rehabilitation centres," Simret told Fortune. “Rehabilitation, like other health services, is now receiving support.”

Regional rehabilitation centres were receiving their budgets from their respective regional health bureaus and governments.

“There is technical, professional, and material support,” she said. “Yes, the challenges are real, but we are working on them.”

The centre in Bahir Dar operates with an annual operational budget, excluding staff salaries, of four million Birr. The termination of donor funds has added strain. Last year, it provided services to more than 8,000 service seekers. The same number is expected again by mid-year, but staff say they cannot serve that number. According to Yalemwork, employees are unable to upgrade their skills due to limited training opportunities.

“Upgrading is essential to increase their competence,” she said.

She attributed the lack of overtime pay, security concerns, and rising material costs to poor service delivery. Questions about why employees leave and whether patients are satisfied remain unanswered, making it difficult to close performance gaps.

“I request support from all sectors and usually receive it, but issues such as vehicles and other resources remain unresolved,” she told Fortune.

Demand has jumped sharply due to the conflict situation in the Regional State, where the centres could not keep up. According to Simret, some days unexpected crowds appear, creating long queues and forcing many patients to return home without receiving the services they need.

One of the largest rehab centres, the Ethiopian Prosthetic & Orthotic Service (EPOS) in Addis Abeba, is said to be performing relatively better.

The Ministry's officials acknowledged that several problems remain unaddressed. The biggest is the shortage of skilled professionals. The Ministry has conducted assessments and is preparing curricula to launch training programs, which will begin with talks currently underway in the Oromia Regional State. Another major problem is the high cost of materials, most of which are imported and often supplied by donors.

Discussions with the Ministry of Finance to secure duty-free import privileges are underway.

The transition of the centres into the Ministry of Health came with its own gaps, particularly financial ones. But Ministry officials argued that the centres have nevertheless benefited from joining the health sector.

“Like other programs, rehabilitation has supervision, a budget, and the potential for meaningful improvement,” Simret said. “The needs are still great and remain to be addressed, but progress is being made toward lasting solutions.”

Evidence of the centres’ capacity shortages is clear to many patients.

Markon Temesgen, a driver for a non-governmental organisation earning 12,000 Br a month in Bahirdar, later he travelled to the Dessie rehabilitation centre a month ago to help his brother Amaha Temesgen, who had broken his leg. He found the centre crowded and staff overwhelmed.

“One employee told me that there were no available spaces and advised me to look for another place to ensure my brother received proper treatment,” he said.

He later moved his brother to Bahir Dar to seek better services, only to find similar conditions. He felt that the regional security crisis had increased the patient load, and the centres lacked the capacity to absorb the surge in patients.

“The centres are busy, and people are waiting," he told Fortune. "If I waited too, the progress would be very slow."

Markon eventually took his brother to Felege Hiwot Hospital in Bahir Dar. After arranging treatment, including crutches and other care, the total cost reached 30,000 Br. If rehabilitation centres had enough space, the full cost, including transport and food, would not have exceeded 10,000 Br.

Experts working in the field say these challenges are not surprising. Questions about readiness and capacity have existed for decades, and limited funding for the health sector makes shortages of materials and human resources unavoidable.

According to Asayehegn Tekeste, a public health expert with over 10 years of experience, rehabilitation centres are challenging to operate even in developed countries.

“It's difficult in Ethiopia,” he said. “The number of people seeking services everywhere has increased unexpectedly, while the centres themselves have remained limited.”

Asayehegn believes raising budgets and reinforcing human resources could help the centres, although increasing financial allocations alone will not solve everything. Services ranging from mental healthcare to physical rehabilitation are now facing shortages of trained professionals, rising material costs, reduced donor support, high import expenses, and that most materials are imported.

PUBLISHED ON Nov 16,2025 [ VOL 26 , NO 1333]