Southern Ethiopia - Gwent Health Link

Next meeting - 02/03/10 17:15, Education Centre, Nevill Hall Hospital

Download agenda for next meeting and minutes of previous meeting (15/01/10)

Metasebia writes: "Tayech Ermias is a 25 year old primigravida. She lives 5km away from Shone health centre. She knew that last year one woman near her home died in labour. The woman could not get to the health center in time because of lack of transport. After many long hours in labour by the time her family could bring her to the health center she had already passed away."

"Tayech heard about the motorbike ambulance during her antenatal check up. When she went to labour around 4:00pm her family called to Eshetu, the motorbike ambulance driver, who came within 20 minutes and brought her to the health center. Dawit, the midwife (trained by the link in October 2009) helped her to give birth around 6:00pm to a 3kg healthy baby boy. She stayed at the health center for 3 hours. During these 5 hours the driver waited for her to take her back to her home. She is very happy with whole service and was keen to come back to the health centre to tell her story."

As always, plenty of activites had been planned and all were completed with excellent participation from our Ethiopian partners. These included 'Training the Trainer' course, C M E skills update in Emergency obstetrics and neonatal care , Skills update workshop for the Nurse Anaesthetists , ALERT ( Acute Life threatening events –Recognition & Treatment) Course for the MSc health officers students and interns , anatomy teaching, laboratory support and training, training of Community Health Extension workers, donation of motorbike ambulance, bicycles to health extension workers, training materials, delivery beds, sterilizers, etc.

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Dr Fitsum and Dr Eskedar, two female doctors from Hawassa College, started their short term clinical attachment at Nevill Hall Hospital in Abergavenny on the 19th of May. They are from the very first batch of medical gradutes to qualify from Hawassa Medical College which has been supported by the link since its very beginning with skills training, training resources and training of the trainers. Dr Fitsum and Dr Eskedar have arrived as a part of exchange programme between Hawassa University & Cardiff University British Council sponsored Institutional Link initiated by our link. They will spend 4 weeks in Wales including attachment at Cardiff University Hospital.  

Last week in Chobare village 18 year old Shemsia Sultan was going to have her first baby. Unfortunately her labour went on for many long hours without any progress and by the evening she was getting weaker. The nearest medical help was in Alaba health centre 40 kilometers away through poor road conditions and the nearest hospital was over 100km away. Shemsia’s family had heard of the recent arrival of motorbike ambulance in Alaba health centre and the training of the midwives there. They telephoned the health centre in the middle of the night and soon the motorbike ambulance was on its way. Later that night Shemsia gave birth in the health centre, with help from the trained midwife, to her 3kg baby girl.

Thanks to the Link donating the ambulance and training the staff, she did not become part of the statistics for maternal death, still so high in Ethiopia due to lack of adequate facilities and trained staff.

So far the two motorbike ambulances donated by the link to Yirgacheffe and in Alaba have made similar 50 journeys in the last two months. The third motorbike ambulance for Wondogenet is on its way to Ethiopia this week.

The link has completed another very successful trip to Ethiopia. 14 members from the link spent up to 2 weeks in Ethiopia to complete a range of activities.

This included two training workshops at Hawassa as well as a range of in-service training and donations at the exemplar health centres. The link has donated the first eRanger motorcycle ambulances in Ethiopia.

The Southern Ethiopia Gwent Health Link and the new Bryn-Y-Cwm - Yirgacheffe link received a commendation award from the Welsh assembly at the Cardiff Eisteddfod on the 4th of August 2008 for their excellent work and inspired contribution toward community partnerships between Wales and Ethiopia. The award was presented by First Minister Rhodri Morgan and United Nations Antipoverty Champion Edith Wakumire.

A team of eight from the Southern Ethiopia Gwent Health Link visited Ethiopia between 29th February and 12th March 2008. During this visit the team organized training workshops as well as revisited the exemplar health centres. While more detailed reports will follow in the next few weeks, read a brief summary of the visit.

The Government has published its long-awaited response to the Crisp Report on Global Health Partnerships. In its latest publication titled 'Global Health Partnerships: The UK contribution to health in developing countries - The Government Response', the Department of Health/Department for International Development has responded to each of the 16 recommendations contained in the Crisp Report. You can download the Crisp report as well as the government response here.