PAST PROJECT
Beginning in 2019, CVT began working in the Nguenyyiel refugee camp in Gambella, in the western part of Ethiopia near the border with South Sudan. At that time, there were more than 80,000 refugees living there who had fled a variety of interethnic and cross-border conflicts. Data from an assessment CVT conducted was used to customize our approach to providing care in Nguenyyiel and the team worked closely with the community to build trust and create awareness of the impacts of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) for people who had survived torture.
In the early years in Gambella, regional conflicts, famine conditions and resource competition contributed to tensions and occurrences of violence in the area. For this reason, initially CVT was limited in our reach inside of the camp, allowed only to work within one zone. Nearly two years after setting up, we had provided services to almost every eligible individual within the zone, so we pressed for opportunities to expand and help has many survivors as possible.
Over the years, word of the positive results of CVT’s care traveled and more interest in care was requested by community leaders. The CVT Gambella team extended care to thousands of survivors in the region. In 2024 alone, more than 4,000 survivors and family members came to CVT’s Gambella center for care, and this evidence brief shows the excellent results reported by clients.
However, despite excellent results reported throughout the years, the U.S. government decided to pull its funding in early 2025, and CVT was forced to close the clinic.
