Curated News
By: NewsRamp Editorial Staff
January 22, 2026
Ethio-American Doctors Group Defends $12M Medical City Project Amid Land Dispute
TLDR
- EADG has invested $12 million and secured partnerships, positioning them to complete Ethiopia's first JCI-accredited hospital and gain a strategic advantage in regional healthcare leadership.
- EADG completed foundation work with 1,000 concrete piles by 2020, secured architectural designs, and pursued PPP collaboration, though bureaucratic delays have stalled vertical construction.
- This 300-bed medical campus will provide world-class healthcare to Ethiopians for generations, reducing medical travel and improving health outcomes through diaspora expertise and commitment.
- Over 350 diaspora physicians have already invested $12 million to build Ethiopia's first JCI-accredited hospital, with foundations complete despite facing bureaucratic hurdles for years.
Impact - Why it Matters
This news matters because it highlights critical issues in healthcare infrastructure development and diaspora investment in Ethiopia. The EADG project represents a significant potential advancement for Ethiopia's medical system, promising a 300-bed JCI-accredited hospital that could reduce medical tourism and improve local care standards. The allegations and bureaucratic delays threatening its completion demonstrate challenges facing public-private partnerships in emerging economies, where administrative hurdles can stall vital projects despite clear funding and readiness. For the Ethiopian public, this impacts access to advanced healthcare services and represents a potential loss of a major philanthropic investment from dedicated professionals. The situation also affects trust in diaspora engagement initiatives, where expatriate communities seek to contribute to their home countries' development. Furthermore, it raises questions about land management and investment security in Ethiopia, potentially discouraging future foreign and diaspora investments in crucial sectors like healthcare if such disputes remain unresolved.
Summary
The Ethio-American Doctors Group (EADG), a collective of over 350 Ethiopian diaspora physicians and health professionals, has issued a detailed public statement addressing persistent concerns about their ambitious Medical City Center project in Addis Ababa. The group categorically refutes two specific allegations that have circulated in public discourse: that they lack financial resources to complete the project and that they have made no progress on the 15-hectare land leased in the Lemi-Kura sub-city since 2019. To counter the first claim, EADG reveals they have already invested over USD $12 million of their own capital, completing critical foundational work including 1,000 reinforced concrete piles by 2019, with the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia appraising the project's value at that stage. They emphasize the project is fully designed and "shovel-ready," with secured partnerships and pledges from reputable international institutions and private investors ready to fund construction and equipping.
Addressing the second concern, EADG strongly denies ever attempting to sell any portion of the allocated land, noting such an action would be legally implausible under Ethiopian law. They clarify that efforts to attract local investors and construction partners were transparent initiatives to strengthen the project's financial and technical capacity. The group details significant on-ground progress, including a groundbreaking ceremony in April 2017 attended by former Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and the completion of the entire hospital foundation by October 2020. They attribute major project delays not to inaction but to administrative blockages, bureaucratic hurdles, permit renewal challenges, and external factors like the COVID-19 pandemic, which stalled their repeated attempts to secure final approvals.
The statement underscores EADG's profound commitment, highlighting that over 40% of their physician members are already actively serving Ethiopia's health sector through free medical camps, specialist training, and equipment donations. The planned 300-bed, Joint Commission International accredited tertiary hospital was conceived as a non-commercial act of service, intended to operate under a Public-Private Partnership model to remain a national asset. In a poignant conclusion, EADG expresses that their "dream project is on the verge of dying" as they observe unauthorized construction on the land, appealing for government action and public understanding to salvage this comprehensive healthcare ecosystem designed to serve Ethiopia for generations.
Source Statement
This curated news summary relied on content disributed by 24-7 Press Release. Read the original source here, Ethio-American Doctors Group Defends $12M Medical City Project Amid Land Dispute
