Southern Ethiopia - Gwent Health Link

In its fifth year our link has prospered steadily with support from the Gwent health Care NHS trust, of the staff from Nevill Hall and Royal Gwent Hospital, THET and from the local community. Dr Aberra as link co-ordinator in Ethiopia has continued to lead very successfully the link activities at the other end with support and active involvement of our link partners in the college and in the health bureau regionally and nationally.

Dilla Hospital

Our link has continued to support Dilla Hospital with essential equipment, instruments, blood bags and medical text books. In this year we have provided the hospital with one more new oxygen concentrator. The hospital is now working in full throttle, thanks to the hard work of the staff there as well as some vital support from our link. This year, we sponsored a visit from Dilla Hospital of an anaesthetic nurse and a paediatric nurse for four weeks work experience and specialist training in our trust.
Awassa College of Health Sciences

Training the Trainers - First Programme

This year our link organised a very first Training the Trainers programme in Awassa. 35 participated including teachers from the college and hospital specialists responsible for teaching students from four hospitals in southern Ethiopia. Unfortunately although invited, none from Dilla or Yirgalem Hospital attended. The programme was considered timely as many of the participants were relatively inexperienced in teaching methods. The programme was highly appreciated by the college authority.

University Link

Our link has continued to support this new University College in its aspiration to develop an institutional link with a University in UK. Our link sponsored this year visit of the college head and the medical faculty Dean to Wales and facilitated their meetings with key persons in the Cardiff University.

Teaching Laboratory students

Our link has continued to support teaching of laboratory students in the college and two of our laboratory scientists visited Awassa this year for this purpose.

Failed CME Workshop for HOs

Emergency skills teaching programmes for the final year HOs at the college in 2005 was less than satisfactory. In February, John Saunders travelled to Yirgalem with Dr Teklasion (retired paediatrician). They found that arrangements for teaching were inadequate. Peter Dale, Asoka Weerakkody and I travelled to Yirgalem in November 2005 following the CME workshop in Arbaminch. We also found that the arrangements were less than satisfactory and had to cancel our programme. For poor Asoka in his two visits to Ethiopia both times his teaching programme for the student HOs had to be cancelled due to inadequate preparation on the other side. But he thoroughly enjoyed teaching in the CME workshops both times. I strongly feel we should stop this part of our link activity for the time being.

Books and Equipment

Our link has again provided this year the college library with text books on varous subjects worth nearly two thousand pounds.

Our link has also supported the newly opened referral hospital of the college with essential instruments, two oxygen concentrators and an incubator.