Mission Ethiopia
CHIFFRES
Mortality infant: 112‰
Life expectancy at birth: 47.6
HDI : 0.367; ranked 170/177
Actual GDP/inhabitant ($) : 97
Beneficiaries
Project Tigray/Axum : directly : 179,000 ; indirectly : 4,000,000
Project Mekele : directly : 200 HIV-positive mother-child pairs, 4,000 pregnant women ; indirectly : 140,000
Staff
Project Tigray/Axum- expatriate: 5 ; local: 4
Project Mekele- expatriate: 5 ; local: 6
Sources de financement
Project Tigray/Axum : UNFPA
Project Mekele :French Foreign Ministry, MdM, GSK Foundation, Felissimo, Sternstunden
Budget 2005
Project Tigray/Axum : 330,545 euros
Project Mekele : 176,808 euros
With a population of 70 million inhabitants, Ethiopia's health indicators are far below the average for Sub-Saharan Africa. The lack of specialist doctors and surgeons outside the capital means access to surgical care is extremely low in the rural areas of the country where 85% of the total population of the country actually live. A major proportion of maternal mortality is due to this shortage.
Surgery
Tigray/Axum
Activities:
Having trained an operating theatre team, and a health officer and anaesthetist nurse to provide emergency surgery, we are transferring our training activities to Axum, where needs are greater. Our work has 3 aspects:
- transfer of knowledge in surgery and obstetrics;
- training full operating theatre teams to work in peripheral health centres;
- access to care for the most destitute people. This work is mainly aimed at general emergency surgery and caesarian sections, to reduce mother and child mortality and obstetrical trauma.
The first training session (3 teams) was completed at the end of February 2006.
Outlook:
Training of teams, in conjunction with trainers from Tigray, must be continued for two years. A new session started in March 2006 for nine months. The integration of the first session in three health centres will be carried out with support from MdM. This year MdM will look at the possibility of an Ethiopian team it has trained becoming trainers.
Preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission
Mekele
Activities:
This project is based on seven aims:
- preventing mother-to-child transmission;
- training counsellors for screening centres, transfer of knowledge to the Mekele medical staff (one hospital and three health centres);
- setting up an integrated voluntary HIV screening unit as part of antenatal consultations;
- raising awareness amongst the community of HIV infection, mother-to-child transmission, and its prevention;
- gradual rebuilding of the maternity unit;
- supplying drugs, consumables and equipment;
- advice and practices on infant feeding.
Outlook:
Changes in health policy in Ethiopia mean ARV treatments can now be used and they are available free of charge at Mekele hospital. The plan is to continue awareness, training and monitoring activities following this initial phase.
July 2006