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Project - Ethiopia

Summary

Ethiopia, located in north-east Africa, has a population of about 82.5 million, 45.7% of which is 15 years and under. Life expectancy is about 49 years. Only 12 % of the population is urban, the majority of which live in the capital city of Addis Ababa. The literacy rate is 42% and only 22% have access to safe water. The average annual income is US$110. We support programs and sponsor children in two area development projects (Boset & Wonchi) in Ethiopia.

Needs

• More than 44% of Ethiopians live below the poverty line. Poverty is linked to the degradation of the environment and natural resources, civil war, social crisis and a succession of devastating famines. Fluctuating weather patterns (droughts) continue to hamper overall agricultural and economic growth.
• Ethiopia has the fifth largest number of people (about 1.5 million) living with HIV and AIDS of any country in the world.
• There are 720,000 children who have been orphaned due to AIDS-related deaths of parents.
• For thousand of children, illiteracy robs them of hope for a future. 30% of school aged children in Boset do not go to school.
• Most rural residents have no access to health services, including immunization. AIDS figures are staggering – 16.5% in Ethiopia, 5% in rural areas and more than 12% in the Boset area.
• The problem of Obstetric Fistula:
• "Obstetric Fistula is the single most dramatic aftermath of neglected childbirth" - World Health Organization.
• In Ethiopia, there are only 106 Ob/Gyns in the whole country and most of these doctors practice in major cities while most women live in rural areas.
• Only one women in ten has helped from a trained birth attendant while delivery a child.

Programs

 Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital

• We support the treatment and prevention of obstetric fistula, the most devastating aftermath of obstructed labor. Having suffered untold trauma during labor, mourning the stillbirth of her baby, ostracized by her community, the fistula patient comes to the hospital in her urine-soaked clothes for help.
• "The Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital is the only facility in the world exclusively dedicated to treating fistula.  It serves as a center of excellence, offering training and pioneering surgical techniques and methods of physical and psychological rehabilitation for women" - United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
• Since its founding in 1974, more than 35,000 operations were performed at no cost to the patients. The Hospital is dedicated to their holistic treatment, from repairing their injuries to restoring their dignity.
• Approximately 90% of these patients are cured.
• Most fistula patients are illiterate and possess no marketable skills. In line with its aim to educate women and empower them to make choices about their reproductive health, the Hospital teach basic literacy, handicrafts, nutrition and safe motherhood to patients awaiting surgery.
• The Hospital is recognized around the world for it’s training programs and as a referral center for traumatic gynecological injuries. In collaboration with the Ethiopian Ministry of Health, the Hospital trains all doctors doing their postgraduate training in obstetrics and gynaecology from the Addis Ababa University. 
• Five mini-fistula hospitals in strategic locations in Ethiopia will provide much-needed treatment and services to women in the provinces.

Boset ADP

• We fund drought relief projects including water harvesting structures, treadle and hand pumps and community training. Successful drip irrigation training has reduced dependence on rain-fed agriculture and enabled growers to engage in supplementary irrigation with the stored runoff water.
• We support projects that provide tools and techniques to sustainably maximize food production.
• We contribute to HIV/AIDS education and the support of caregivers and families living with AIDS.
• We funded the construction of the Sifa Rasa Elementary School. Girls constitute 81 million of the 130 million children without access to primary schools. An education lowers adolescent childbearing by 35%-40%. The proximity of the school to their homes will increase enrolment and enable the girl-child to have an education due to the reduced fear of abduction and rape.
• We funded the construction of the Sifa Bate Health Post which will serve a population of 12,375. It will be used to educate women in preventive health and nutritional care and to provide services related to malnutrition. The 3 main causes of high infant mortality here are malaria, intestinal parasites and respiratory illness like pneumonia. There are also 6 HIV infected women for every 4 infected men.

Wonchi ADP

• We funded a Maternal and Child Nutrition Initiative to educate and implement programs to address the pervasive problem of malnutrition.