Dr. Alemu Arja
Ob/Gyn Resident
Tenwek Hospital
Kenya
In many parts of Africa, the need for qualified obstetrician gynecologists is urgent. In Ethiopia alone, an estimated 14,000 women die each year from preventable or treatable complications in pregnancy or childbirth. Each one represents a mother, a family, and a loss that could have been avoided with timely care.
Dr. Alemu Arja has seen this heartbreak up close. Before entering medical school, he worked as a midwife and lecturer in southern Ethiopia at a teaching referral hospital. Day after day, he watched women in labor suffer as they waited, sometimes up to four hours, for a doctor to arrive. Midwives like him were reprimanded if they attempted even simple, life-saving procedures such as manually removing a placenta or augmenting labor. The helplessness of standing by as patients declined left a lasting mark on him.
Determined to make a difference, he left his teaching post and pursued medical school, driven by a conviction to ensure women no longer had to wait for care. After graduating, he served as a general practitioner at Soddo Christian Hospital, focusing on obstetrics and gynecology. However, it was in the operating room, where he discovered his calling.
Soddo Christian Hospital is home to two PAACS programs in general and orthopedic surgery. There, Dr. Arja witnessed the excellence, mentorship, and Christ-centered training that define PAACS. He knew this was the kind of preparation he needed to serve at the highest level.
Today, he is a PAACS Ob/Gyn resident at Tenwek Hospital in Kenya. Dr. Arja is part of a growing program working to transform women’s healthcare across Africa. PAACS’ expansion into obstetrics and gynecology is an intentional response to the continent’s staggering maternal health needs. Through PAACS, Dr. Arja is being equipped not only to perform complex surgical procedures, but also to provide spiritual care to women facing fear and uncertainty. Prayer before surgeries, devotions and Bible studies with colleagues, and praying individually with patients have deepened his faith and strengthened his sense of purpose.
His vision is simple - to serve women with quality and compassionate care, wherever God leads him, and to share the hope of Christ through his work.
