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10/14/11 (AEIN) The government of Ethiopia has begun constructing a new hospital in Afar State. At a cost of nearly 38 million birr, the project will also establish two new health posts and twelve health stations, the country's official news agency reported on Friday.
Over 350 thousand people will be able to access the hospital and other medical facilities, according to the deputy head of the regional health bureau. They will be located in areas of the state which presently lack sufficient access to health services.
Afar State is located in eastern Ethiopia. Twelve new medical facilities were built in this region last year and have since opened to the public, according to the Ethiopian News Agency. Regional medical coverage currently stands at seventy percent.
The infant mortality rate of Ethiopia decreased by approximately forty-six percent between 1990 and 2009, according to statistics from UNICEF. About 75-90% of children receive immunizations against major diseases. However, the life expectancy is only 56.