Ethiopia

Project to challenge female genital mutilation in Ethiopia funded by U.S. Presbyterian Women

A program of awareness and education to reduce the harmful practice of female genital mutilation of young women in Ethiopia will be developed by PC(USA)’s partner church, the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Jesus (EECMY). Funding for the project is being provided by a grant from the Presbyterian Women’s Thank Offering. Read the rest of this story in the Fall 2007 International Health newsletter.

HIV prevalence among women attending prenatal clinics, 1999 - 2000

Overview of the Health Situation:

• One million square kilometers with Population of 73 million (85% is rural).
• Agrarian economy accounting for 51% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
• Poverty is widespread – half of the population lives under the poverty line.
• Health Service coverage 71%, Antenatal coverage 42.8%.
• Mortality Rates:
  • Infant 96/1,000 live births
  • Under Five 140/1,000
  • Maternal 871/100,000
• One hospital to 588,000 people
• One Health Center to 223,000 people
• One doctor to 39,000 people
• One nurse to 14,000 people
• Births in clinics and hospitals = 12% leaving the others giving birth outside institutions with the majority unattended.
• HIV rate is 4.4%, 16% urban, <2% rural but some towns over 30% infection rate.
• For more statistics, a valuable resource is the Ethiopia AIDS Resource Center.
• An estimated 2.2 million of Ethiopia’s 67 million people are infected with HIV/AIDS - Ministry of Health (MOH) 2002.
• The adult HIV prevalence rate in Ethiopia is 6.6%, which means that one out of every 15 adults is infected.
• In Addis Ababa, the rate is much higher: an estimated one out of every six adults is infected (MOH 2002).
• In 2001, more than 160,000 Ethiopians died due to AIDS (UNAIDS 2002).
• More than 1.2 million children in Ethiopia have lost their mother or both parents to AIDS (MOH 2002).
• Impact of AIDS
• reduced overall life expectancy by 11 years
• increased infant mortality and death rates– lowered
• population size and growth rates in Ethiopia.

Health delivery system is organized into a four-tier system as follows:

• Specialized Hospital receiving referrals
• Regional/Zonal Hospital
• District Hospital
• Health Centers or Primary Health Care Unit (PHCU) serving 25,000 persons via five satellite Community Health Posts (CHPs)
• PCUSA partners with the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY).
• AIDS Consultant works in Ethiopia with EECMY in their Development Section.

You can make a difference in the lives of people like Nyagua, Abang and Ariet, and many other Ethiopian women and children, by giving to AIDS Crisis Overseas. With your contribution Nyagua can teach women about family planning and HIV prevention, Abang can care for larger numbers of people in their homes and Ariet can get a motor scooter to reach people in more villages. Please give today.

A letter from Dorothy Hanson in Ethiopia

July 2006

Jeba Adugna, a 19-year-old secondary school graduate awaits the results of his University entrance exam. He left his poor family in the far western portion of Ethiopia four years ago to study in Addis Ababa. His only support is his ability to teach English.

In only one day, these people came to me with their needs:

Qes Ayano, an Ethiopian, came to Ethiopia representing ANARELA+ (African Network of Religious Leaders Living With or Affected by HIV and AIDS) from West Africa. I answered his request for startup money with a 6,000ETB donation ($700.00). He is an answer to my prayer for a church leader who is willing to speak out about his HIV+ status. He is a widower, his wife and child buried in Nigeria, struck down by AIDS. He is here to break the silence, with God’s help, among the Ethiopian church leaders.

Dorothy's Ethiopia photo album

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