Supporting Rural Health Centres in Ethiopia

Riyad is 20 years old. He’s a farmer and lives with his family 30 minutes from a health centre in Jimma. Riyad is illiterate, has never been to school and has epilepsy. Prior to seeking treatment at the health centre he first tried a traditional method of management for his condition.

He attended a local traditional healer who advised him to take a powder, mixed with water and drunk every evening after dinner for a total of seven days. Unfortunately there was no improvement and, as with preceding weeks, he had four seizures. This failure to improve prompted him to come to the health centre and be started on anticonvulsant therapy. He now agrees that attending his appointments can help him feel better and, after being a regular attendee and taking his medication, has been free from attacks for ten months.

Now that we have been fundraising through GlobalGiving for our work in Ethiopia for over three years, we think it is a perfect time to provide a more general report on progress to our donors.

Since 2013 we have trained 134 nurses and health officers to diagnose, treat and care for NCD patients at health centre level in the Jimma and Gondar regions of the country. They are doing a fantastic job of delivering these services under the supervision of Dr Yoseph and colleagues at Jimma and Gondar Universities. We have also trained 242 health extension workers to raise awareness about NCDs in their communities and to refer patients to their nearest health centres for NCD screening.

As a result we are delighted to say that we now have over 8,000 diabetic, hypertensive, epileptic and chronic respiratory disease patients registered at the health centres where we work. These patients are now receiving treatment and care for their chronic conditions, often for the first time in their lives.

We also continue to conduct research into these diseases in collaboration with our university partners in Jimma, Gondar and Southampton. This is allowing us to build a stronger evidence base about the causes of these conditions in the rural areas of Ethiopia, as well as how they are experienced by the patients themselves. In turn, this evidence is enabling us to improve the way we deliver our work, and to ensure it continues to benefit the rural communities of Ethiopia. Our most recent research into the reasons for patient default will be published soon.

You, the donor, is making this happen! We are extremely grateful for your generosity. Thank you.