Ethiopian Review Editorial
Ethiopian hospitals are currently causing more suffering and death than healing. People who go to hospital for minor ailments end up gravely sick or dead. It is common to see patients, even infants, die in hospital emergency rooms unable to get treatment. Health workers are overwhelmed, and many of them do not care any more. Physicians in Ethiopia do not face malpractice lawsuits as in the U.S. and are becoming too careless in treating their patients. Private clinics are more concerned about making profit than treating their patients since there is no supervision by the government. Led by the Woyanne-appointed incompetent Minister, Dr. Tedros Adhanom, the Ministry of Health is a non-functioning government department whose officials are busy enriching themselves instead of carrying out their responsibilities. Government officials do not care because they and their families go to Western countries to get the treatment they need if they get sick.
Under the Woyanne regime, for example, malaria has reached an epidemic level. Malaria has returned to Ethiopia when Woyanne came to power. Under the Haileselassie regime, the Ethiopian Malaria Prevention Center had succeeded in completely eradicating malaria. In 1992, the Woyanne tribal junta dismantled the center saying that each region (killil) should have its own Malaria Prevention Center. But what Woyanne did was simply move the Center to Mekele and ignore the other regions. As a result, malaria now kills tens of thousands of Ethiopians each year in Amhara, Oromia, and other regions.
Although tens of millions of dollars donated from other countries are allocated for combating HIV/AIDS, the number of individuals contracting the virus and the death toll from the disease have not decreased. The reason is that there is no political will to focus on the problem. Under the Woyanne regime, government officials are busy acquiring personal wealth and transferring it out of the country. They are not public servants. They are parasites that suck the life blood of the people of Ethiopia.
Once these ‘public servants’ think they made enough money, they go to Western countries and seek political asylum claiming persecution. It is becoming common for members of the Tigrean People Liberation Front (Woyanne) to seek political asylum in the United States. Some claim that they are members of Kinijit or OLF, the same organizations whose members they torture and kill in Ethiopia. Fabricating the necessary evidence for their political asylum cases is easy for them for the obvious reason.
Dental care is in a worse state. Ethiopians dentists should be named deathtists. We are hearing cases where people who receive a simple dental treatment end up terribly sick, disfigured, or dead because of infections that can easily be prevented. The dentists don’t even use anaesthesia when they treat their patients. Getting dental treatment in Addis Ababa is as traumatic as being tortured by Workneh Gebeyehu’s sadistic thugs at the Federal Police headquarters.
One of the most notorious dentists (deathtists) in Ethiopia who is known for deadly incompetence is Dr. Asheber Woldegiorgis. Yes, it is the same guy who was recently fired from his position as chairman of the Ethiopian Football Federation. This Russian-educated dentist makes tones of money from his private dental clinics. According to ER Research Unit, none of Dr Asheber’s clinics has ever been inspected by the Ministry of Health. Dr Asheber himself is too busy playing soccer and exploiting teenage girls with his friend Al Amoudi to properly run his dental practice. His close friendship with Al Amoudi makes Dr Asheber immune from any accountability for his malpractice. His patients (victims) have no recourse for being made sick and disfigured from severe dental infections that result from poor or careless treatment. In some cases, the infection spreads to lung through the sinus and kill the patient after horrible suffering.
It is reported that there are more Ethiopian doctors in eastern United States alone than in Ethiopia. Who can blame these physicians? The Woyanne tribal junta has made the country unlivable to all Ethiopians, except those who are members and affiliates of the ruling class. What these physicians who are currently in Western countries are accountable for is for ignoring the plight of the poor people they left behind. Many of them go back to Ethiopia for visits, flash their dollars on the poor, stay at Sheraton and come back to their luxurious life — made possible by those who bled and died to make the U.S. a free country.
It is not unusual for a lot of Ethiopians to say “I don’t want to get involved in politics.” What these people do not realize is that when they go to get a simple dental treatment, for example, and instead get sick from it, they have no recourse because those politicians who are in power do not care for politics, too, and there is no body to make any body accountable. In the final analysis, the responsibility for the endless nightmare in our country falls on the lap of every Ethiopian who puts his/her head in the sand.
38 thoughts on “Ethiopian health care system in total disarray”
well said
“In the final analysis, the responsibility for the endless nightmare in our country falls on the lap of every Ethiopian who puts his/her head in the sand”, YES, YES YES…
My sister-in-law went to Tikur anbessa because she was in labour and she is about to deliver. Somehow they passed her quickly into the delivery room (we knew somebody there) and pain was so unbearable she was screaming. The so-called doctor walked over to her and slapped her saying to keep quite. She did not know what to do. She has no one to turn to. Somehow she made it out of there alive. It is three years now she won’t stop crying everytime she is reminded of that dreadful night in Tikur Anbessa.
This is from close family I know. I tell you the so-called “higher clinics” every hundred meter in Addis have become cash cows and the procedures they take you through is just sickening. I am sure someone will collect these horrible first hand stories and publish them in a book.
Editorial! come on, what is wrong with being educated in Russia? Please! stay away from backward and negative thoughts pertaining to the Russian education system.
Absolutely true! I take my hat off to you Mr. Elias this time again!
mr eliase you are a way from your home country and you are balmeing our doctores.why don’t you blame ethiopian doctores who are leaving outside of ethiopia….
I have seen King Haile Silassie’s era, have lived through a few years of derg Junta, I never saw so many Ethiopians ailing and dying in large numbers! Its alarming to hear the entire neighborhoods vanishing fast. I have my suspcions that people are intetionally exposed to germs! Why would all people you lived next door, you went to school with, merchants, educators, good people are deliberately being eradicated systematically. Thorough reseach, serveys, statics need to be done if possible. Ethiopians are faced germ warefares, and no one is hinting how to track where the germs are brewed, sold, how agents of EPRDF INNOCULATING first prisonners, then to spouses and children.
Derg was honest nationalist regime. Haile was truely honest king but this Meles and his thugs are criminal thugs who dare to ethenical clearing though such germ warefares. People be advised, our people are exposed to epidemic of germ wars and we refuse acknowledge it.
I will not visit Ethiopia I am blessed to escape with my family during good days. I am sorry to see my birth nation has to suffer so much under parasites who go so low dirty deed to stay where they got through mass butchery.
There is also a “doctor” or deathdoctor by the name Dejene in the maternity section of Tikur Anbesa Hospital. He and his friend or allys have killed a health pregnant girl with her baby…..and they know that they can’t be taken accountable
I wish someone could translate this and distribute to all Ethiopians. It is really painful to see our beloved citizen suffer this much while some benefit out this. It is our prayer to see Ethiopia transformed and making progression.
God Bless Ethiopia.
Deressa
Thanks a lot Elias, for exposing restlessly struggling the tribal junta of Zenawi who run a nation like a fifdom,the current situation has been getting worse especialy after the 2005 election,the people of Addis abeba paying the price for rejecting TPLF.
I don’t understand why a lot of proffesionals turn a blind eye to the misery of our people? all of educated and became someboady by the expense of poor ethiopian people, the Medcal doctors in the US who did pay for your education?
please al least organised youself and try to fight to the the basics of profesionalism in your home-country.
This is one of the manifestations of Woyane’s decadence .
It is fast dieying regime .
the question is : are we ready to take over ? Appreciate answers from oppositions.
Dear editor , kindly suggest not to mention individual names to show the intensity of the issue as it reduces it to personal level.
Indeed; it is sad. Just a wk ago, my close relative went to hospital for lower urinary tract infection. She was given antibiotics. But itchy rash all over her body appeared. She went back to the same Dr. and was advised to continue with her Tx and go to dermatologist for her skin condition. Thanks God, her allergy reaction didn’t suffocate her to death.
It is true that the health care system in Ethiopia is corrupted and it requires a total shake up for better service. Those who are well educated in the medical service had been on the run since the rise of Derg which is the result for most Ethiopians to live in a nightmare. The political, economical and working conditions are not conducive. I would have been happy if we have the courage to at least appreciate and encourage those who availed themselves to serve the nation.
I am in doubt of your source’s truthfulness about the defaming comment given on Dr. Ashebir’s professional ethics and educational background. As far as I know him, he is a true Ethiopian who loves his country and family and professionally one of the best dentists in the field. I guarantee you that all of his dental clinics are periodically inspected and copies can be availed. I am sure every precaution is taking care prior to bringing individual cases to the public.
I have due respect for you in your area of profession and on the public service you are rendering.
Thank you.
Yigermal
03.14.2008.
As Elias puts it,There is no political will to serve the nation.Don’t forget this Gvt.is there to revange against ethiopians.These were the the same weyanes used to disrespect our flag.Beside the have no talent since they were un educated peasants.The only thing they have is hate and arrogant view to other tribes.So it is for etrhiopians to stand together and end these parasites.
It is true that the medical care system in Ethiopia is flat on its chest. However, it worries me to read inflammatory articles such as this without providing any suggestion to improve the condition. Also, some of the statements made in the article are erronous. For instance:
1 – Malaria has never been eradicated from Ethiopia even during Emperor Haile Selassie’s regime. Although a sound health care strategy was in place, with the help of foreign aid, the military regime that over-threw the Emperor de-emphasised on social services preffering to drag the country (Enat ager eyedemach naw) into war and eventual economic bankrupcy.
2 – Condemning Ethiopian dentists as deathtists (whatever that means) and especially dragging one particular “Russian educated” person’s name through mud without any supportive statistics would make your journalism tantamount to mediocrity.
Come on Mr reporter, for the sake of not loosing the elite from your audience, measure up to the expectation of your readers! Look at the response of your readers; the majority don’t even know how to express themselves in an enlightened and refined manner.
Thanks Elias, Actually it’s not about indivduals it’s all about a system it’s not about one one particular issue the whole national issues, Medical proffesional you are the one who are suffering in the agony of gulit,as Elisa put it clearly nowadays there are more medical Doctors in US than in Ethiopia it’s true. it’s not only financal but also political the reason why so many Ethiopian doctors leaving their post, who want to be EPRDF member???
still there are a lot of means to support the situation at home like puplishing by-monthly medical journal ,launching a web site focusing on the medical conditon and the new technological progerss, by voluntering ——-and so on
Ethiopian Medical profesionals, you need to set-up a model organisation before the time become too late, otherwise history will judge your reaction at thses critical time.
Mr Elias you are an Ethiopian hero for millions and a crimnal for TPLF regime, we say NO NO, you are a free man who can walk free a voice to the voiceless, God bless you!!!
I want to comment on one point only. I do not think that the health proffessionals are careless in treating their patients. the atmosphere, the environment they are in is not favorable for the work they want to do. If they don’t have gloves, medicine, good salary, respect, how will it be possible to do the the right job?
Thanks.
Elias,
I truly understand what you are trying to show us about what is going on in the health system back in Ethiopia. it is very encouraging to some people give attention to what is very crucial to the people of Ethiopia. Having said that, I have reservation not on the facts but on specifics and the details you tried to explain. I don’t know your background, from your writing you may have no medical background or at least you have no idea how the health system works in Ethiopia.I am in the medical field currently living in one of the western country. I have tried to help my people in every possible way before I decided to leave the country. Our failure is not due to fault of ceratin group ( medical personel, politician or other), it is a collective of problem which startes from the top of the governement. It is part of a failed state policy. I am not trying to defend any group here. As an idividual, I think, irrespective of my education, profession or whatever, I have the right to choose my path in my own life.I don’t think you are in a position to talk about the Drs, in general, who have been suffering in Gode or Borena with meger resource and benefit when they gave up finally while you are living a lexuriouse life here in Western contry.If you are truley motivated to talk about it, please try to get more informationfrom people in the field back home or here then do a better joib by finding out the true problem.Mentioning names or identifying a certain group won’t solve the problem.It is much deeper than individaul incidents
If you need more on this issue I will be happy to talk to you assuming the intention is for good.
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Bena, please contact me at [email protected]
In crime-ridden regime of Meles Naziawi, no Ethiopians are safe and respected. When the crime family snatched Ethiopia from the future generation, it means, the crime family took the entire country for themselves and turned the country into their business empire to suck the blood and the resources of the people and the country.
When the crime family and their subordinates and associates came into Ethiopia they began destroying the infrastructure of the country and demolished the pillars of the family and made thousands of children homeless. Thousands of little boys and little girls were shipped out to the lust and sex hungry customers in the Middle East and remained suffering to these days.
Once the crime family focused on dismantling the social fabric of families and the society, they immediately shifted their primary attention to looting the resources of the country and turned their guns at the people of Ethiopia who stood in their way to defend Ethiopia.
The crime family, at their embarrassing loss during the 2005 election felt that their parasitic lives on the poor came to end, and with greatest desperation and being paranoid, the crime family mobilized the notorious agazi killers and began to shoot at Ethiopians at random and as targeted victims and killed more than 187 innocents in just less than a day.
Today, the crime family’s killing spree has taken a different order and targets. Denying the population basic health care, putting kids through in a sub-standard education, denying legitimate university and college students employment, confining the citizens in their neighborhood, deliberately creating favorable conditions for young girls and boys to be involved in sex trade and make them expose to all kinds of diseases, and simply the crime family blindfolded the future generation walked them through darkness with no chance for the future.
In the regime of the crime family the right of the citizen is not respected, and citizens are considered as property of the crime family to serve and supply cheap and free labor for the business chain and empire that the crime family established for them. God forbids, if one citizen is sick, there is death to follow chiefly because the crime family made the country void of qualified Doctors and health officers so that once the patients feet is in the hospital, it is quite known and positively expected but sadly that funeral is arranged to take the dead to its final place. It is a laugh for the crime family but a sorrow for the entire nations pregnant women and their to-be-born babies come out dead from the hospital. It is sad and true, when Ethiopians die, it is a celebration for the crime family but a loss for the nations.
Inflation is soaring and poverty is crushing children to death and hope is buried. The crime family is fattening themselves with all sorts of loot and now has the crime family become the sinners and the criminals of the century. The saddest story of all time is that out the 11 pregnant women who went into labor in the hospital, luckily, three women came alive with their babies the rest were dead at the hands fake doctors in the completely disgusting conditions of the hospitals that the crime family made available to four million Ethiopians in the capital. The toll of the pregnant women in the countryside has completely become epidemic.
The remedies for the ill that the crime family created can be and should be cured by removing the crime family from the surface of Ethiopia and make free millions of Ethiopians.
My response to mengle,”for the sake of not loosing the elite” mengle how many language are you really speaking ?? the forum is to everyone not only to the English-speaking American and England eduacted Ethiopian, everybody is entitled for his say, I think the editor can undestand the fact that there are a lot of ethiopian who are struggling with thier english but they are good in Russian, French,Japanes etc—–mengle ask and learn the good and the bad for yourself first.
An Ethiopian professor at the Tikur Anbessa Hospital used to refer to Russian trained doctors as “qualified murderers”.
This is a much better analysis and comment compared to your previous editorials.
What evidence do you have for moving the malaria Center to Mekele and ignore the other regions?
Are you sure ,Ealias? Dont be narrow minded
Elias,
Although I don’t agree on some of your aphorism, I valued bring up such daunting issue for discussion. I was nutty by your reader’s saying “Come on Mr. Reporter, for the sake of not loosing the elite from your audience, measure up to the expectation of your readers!” It is unpleasant and unwise to set a class of status for expressing ideas and views to any people. The ability to write and speak eloquent English or other language should not be the standard in conveying once own idea.
In my view, instead of warning the Reporter for not losing privileged readers it is wise to use the opportunity to be suggestive as how we can be helpful in humanizing the health system in our mother land. There will be an appalling consequence if we give our deaf ear to the problem now and simply hold the existing government responsible. They may go away as Derg had.
Why not we organize ourselves and campaign for a limited time free services to our people in any accessible hospitals and clinics in Ethiopia. Let us go home and tell our community that we here to give you back! Don’t you think this a noble idea
hi, the article could have been more objective if it took few simple but objective principles in to account. Yes the system is rotten and out of hand,but to imply that Dr.Ashebir is making money without being in his office and he is not a competent dentist at the same time, doesn’t make sense.Pigs are pigs whether they went to school in Russia or Ethiopia, i can give you many examples of doctors profitiering from the misery of their people, who are graduated from the infamous Ethiopian medical schools.Try to be reasonable man.
Wegen,
Is there anything (except Woyane’s Police) that isn’t in disarray in Ethiopia?
Healthcare has always been a problem for a poor country like ours, but of course it has become a nightmare for millions under the incompetent and thugish TPLF regime. It takes FREEDOM to build a functional healthcare system or any functional system for that matter. Ethiopia is a large open prison and to expect anything better for our people at this time with the Tigrai ethnic junta still in power is like expecting rain in the middle of the sahara desert. Doctors, teachers, nurses, engineers, young unemployed and all kinds of Ethiopians (myself included) have left our dear country for we no longer see any hope of living in our own country with freedom. People ask or wonder how America became this rich. The answer is simple: “America is rich because its citizens are FREE to say or do whatever they want.” When you give people their freedom, they work hard, they become creative, and the rest follows. We are not lucky. We live in the old world where the powerful want to be in power forever by silencing the weak, millions simply follow the powerful not knowing they also have the right to live happy lives. I can go on and on, but in short, our problems are way too many and I am sorry to say that it isn’t going to be that easy to get out of the mess we are in.
“Kelkelom silicha silicham kelkelo” ale Mengistu Lema nefsun yimarewuna.
Dear Ethiopian Review,
Ethiopian doctors are not careless or money mongeres. Indeed they have proven to be among the best in the world. I believe, you will not have difficulty to get proof for this from your vicinity. I am a Dr myself who has served my contry for 15 years but ended up in the US. Belive it or not, not for money but to scape injustce, and standing infront of the sick ethiopians without engouth answer for their health problem. Stop Ahyawen Feru Dawlawen metu and try to foucus on the problem. More Drs are fleeing Ethiopia to any corner of the globe including even to poorer countries in Africa. Do you think there is less responsiblity for Drs ealsewhere than in Ethiopia
i am one of recently exiled physcian i think the problem is multi-faceted .remember almost all ethiopian physcian here in US are successful. my personnel reason to leave my country is both the public and the gov’t are becoming anti physcial while the real problem lies in the health system i am proud to be an ethiopian but how can we work in a corrupted and dismantled system above all the public didn’t understand our problem.finally there is no place than ethiopia where being a physcian is ‘stressful and disgusting’
exile MD TO USA
I was very disturbed by some of the comments made about
Ethiopian Medical Doctors (those leaving ethiopia). I am in medical field myself got my Degree here in the united states. I met quite a lot of them through professional organization or work realted situation.They are the most intellegent , genuine, full of integrity, and willing to help their country. for those without medical backround ,medical professional Meciacal Doctor, Pharmacist
and other health professional are held to Higer standard.
It morally and ethically wrong to do something practicing without proper equipment, medicine gloves and so on .please Elias do some research next time before You Judge other people. You Owe all Medical professional an apology
Killer Drs: an Emerging Disease
We are producing Drs that kill as. The newly 10 Medical colleges established in the country are empty houses. The students had never seen the necessary theoretical and practical foundations of medicine.
For example
The curriculum at Mekele University is designed by a person who claims to be a Soil Scientist. There is one cadaver for teaching anatomy for 100 students; the cadaver is kept with fish in Biology lab, first breach of Ethics in the first class of the first year.
In the past students were selected based on their grades but now it is for money people who would like to travel abroad and work in home care are choosing it regardless their interest and experience.
In the past Russian graduates were given internship before practicing; now you have public health officers who graduated through distance education and summer crush programme to hold hospital administration posts.
One of my relatives child was sick and the child was referred to Black lion, they even had no stand to suspend glucose bag. My friend was requested to buy a nail.
I had wound 3 stitches. When I asked the surgeon when to remove the stitches he told me it is absorbable it will go by itself. First he should not have used absorbable suture on skin. The wound became infected and was dressed for a month. In fact the surgeon used Silk, it is non absorbable and it should have been removed after a week. It was discovered when an assistant nurse told me unless she removes the suture the wound will not heal, these are Drs who do not know the difference.
A friend also had his 3 month old child sick; the Dr said she is asthmatic. After reading on a book, he requested the mother he would like to inject the child and see the effect for an hour. The mother refused. And she consulted on the phone for a friend. He just advised here to boil water in the room where the child stays (Humidify). If the mother has not consulted adios!
Finally there is Ethnicity in Medicine. If you are Amhara gynecologist they will tell you that that is an Oromo position!!!
It is a wonderful editorial. I would love to see more attention given to this forgotten sector in the future. I may contribute something myself. Thank you Elias.
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Thanks, Mosissa. Please do write.
In every Woyanne’s political department, healthcare department, treasury department, transportation department, housing department, judicial department, mining department, water department, food supply department, fire department, agriculture department, and religious department, there has always been a catch word, and that catch word is “I don’t care.” In Amharic, the catch word is “gid yelengm.”
Let me start from the bottom up: from the religious department to the political department. In 2005, when that horrible massacre took place, some of the University students took shelter at the compound of Kidist Mariam Church, the head quarter of Abune Paulos, Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. As soon as Abune Paulos was informed that some students were taking shelter at his compound because they were running away from the brutal Woyanne’s police force, then the heartless Abune Paulos said: “I don’t care; take them out.” Indeed, if he were a caring Patriarch, he could have counseled them, sheltered them, and fed them, so he chose to please Meles instead of God by driving out those helpless students who were badly traumatized by the deaths of many innocent Ethiopian citizens. If he had accepted them, God could have rewarded him in heaven, but he chose to please Meles Seitanawi by driving them out from his compound.
When an environmentalist try to tell the head of the agricultural department that it is not good to spray DDT on the agricultural field because DDT would affect the environment and kill many insects including bees, the agricultural department head would say “I don’t care for the environment, nor do I care about the health of the people.”
No one knows for sure how many houses are burned down every year in Addis Ababa because the fire department is ill-equipped to handle each burning house, and no one knows how many lives and properties are lost to the negligence of the fire department. If the fire department personnel gets a call from a person whose home is on fire, the fire department personnel would not rash to respond the call. Finally he arrives after the individual’s house has been burned down. And if a friend of him asks him why he is too late to respond to the desperate call, he would say: “I don’t care whose house is burning.”
Ethiopians are dying at an early age, and some of the causes of their deaths could be from eating unhealthy food; the food supply department head does not take enough time to inspect the food, to wash it properly, and then to assure the consumers that the food they are getting is healthy. However, the food, whether it is spoiled meat, rotten vegetable, putrid egg, flour mixed with pebble (teter), grain consumed by nekez a tinny insect, might be contaminated by harmful bacteria, but the person who supplies the food to the consumers does not take time to throw out the spoiled egg, the rotten vegetable, and the tainted meat from the many food items he carries because he says: “I don’t care as far as I am able to sell them to the consumers.”
The Ethiopian people like the other people of the world drink a lot of water every day; those who live in the countryside do not have running water in their homes. They have to fetch water from the river for drink and for washing dishes. Those who live in Addis Ababa have running water in their homes, but this running water could be contaminated with lead because the water pipes have never been cleaned and examined how much lead they may have in them. Many of these water pipes that are still functioning are the ones that had been made by the Italians who occupied Ethiopia during World War II, which means they are old and corroded, and if someone asks the water department person why he has failed to clean the water pipes and get rid of the lead, his answer would be: “I don’t care about cleaning those old water pipes.”
The person responsible for the mining department does not care either whether Al Amoudi or some one else inappropriately mines the gold, destroying the environment, as far as he gets a little share from the gold sale. He knows that Meles will never send an expert to see if the mining has damaged the echo systems of the surrounding areas. Meles’ responsibility is to look after his profits from the sale of the gold, not after the damage done to the environment, because he does not care.
The judge on the bunch does not understand the most complicated cases brought to him; he spends no adequate time to find out who is guilty and who is innocent, because he does not care whether this person or that person ends up in jail for the rest of his/her life. You go and ask him why he did what he did. His answer would be: “I don’t care.”
Addis Ababa is a very crowded city, and the person who runs the housing department must build more affordable and habitable houses for the citizens of Addis Ababa, not just for the citizens of Mekelle (Forget about Gondar and Oromo; nothing is going to be done for them). As he builds more houses, he must also provide sewages, garbage collectors, electricity, running water, and lighted streets. However, the housing department does not care whether the citizens of Addis Ababa have electricity, running water, sewage, and police protection, because no one in this department is concerned about the welfare of the citizens, and every one asked would say: “I don’t care.”
Every region in Ethiopia needs modern transportation to bring its products to the market and sell them at reasonable prices; those 500 new buses from China are not going to cover the entire country. Who knows those new Chinese buses may have been already assigned to Mekelle region, so if some one from Gondar or Oromo region politely asks the person who is in charge of the transportation department for some buses to his region, the obvious answer he would get is “I don’t care about Gondar or Oromo; what I care is about Mekelle region.”
Whether the economy of the country is growing up or going down, whether many Ethiopians are employed or unemployed, the person in charge of the treasury department does not care as far as Meles’ pocket and the pockets of his family remain replenished with plenty of money. The beggars begging in the streets of Addis Ababa and somewhere else, the unemployed leaving the country and migrating to another country looking for a job and dying in foreign countries – all these unpleasant circumstances do not bother the person in charge of the treasury department because he says: “I just don’t care who is employed or who is unemployed as far as the Mekelle people have jobs.”
The Ethiopian people have lived without seeing any physician and without going to a hospital to deliver their babes for centuries, and they can continue to live in the same way their ancestors had lived; the problem, however, they are facing now is different from the problems their ancestors had been facing: in the old days food gathered from hunting was plenty, and every body eating raw meat and drinking raw milk was healthy and used to live longer, because the environment then was not polluted by insecticide, DDT, or other chemicals. Today, many Ethiopians, living in a crowded city that has no adequate housing, adequate sewage, adequate healthy food supply, and adequate healthcare system, need more physicians, more nurses, more medical supplies, and more hospital beds, because it seems that Ethiopia is producing more sick babies than wholesome babies. To take care of millions of these sick babies, a country needs a caring government, a compassionate health department head, a dedicated physician, and a passionate spiritual father. None of these are to be found in Ethiopia today; most of the highly educated physicians live in the west, and those who are in the country are deficient of modern medicine to fight modern diseases such as HIVS, breast cancer, heart disease, and many other complicated illnesses that need especial treatment. Saddened by the great number of infant mortalities, shocked to see old people dying in the streets of Addis Ababa, and overwhelmed by grief from seeing a pregnant woman being turned off from receiving assistance from a hospital emergency room to deliver her baby, a concerned person may ask the health department agent why all these infants are dying; his answer would be “I don’t care how many sick babies are dying every day because other sick babies are being born every day too, and as far as the Mekelle’s babies are healthy, who cares about the Gondar’s babies and the Oromo’s babies.”
All the departments I mentioned above are ran by Woyanne’s corrupt political gangs, and that is why the individuals that run them are corrupt too, as the saying goes: “When you are in Rome, do as the Romans do.” Therefore, any one who lives in Ethiopia must perform his/her duties according to the dictator’s rules of games.
Imagine how messy the system is!
Awassa (Hawassa) Medical College is built in the middle of the lake, so that mosquito can spread malaria, yellow fever etc. Single sputum can pollute the biology of the lake. It is better to demolish it than harming people and environment.
What a wise government!
Some of the Doctors could not read and write properly. They differentiate penicillin and Tetracycline by smelling!!!
He Elias,
you brought important issue but it is poorly researched and politicaly motivated.
1.I do not know if you have a good insurance or if you are one of the poor americans (40 million uninsured)who runs to the emergency room.
2.Don’t forget that WHO fared cuba and India better than your great USA on heath care.
3.HIV is now the leading cause of death for non white Americans.Doesn’t that sound third world.
Can you still blame the poor Ethiopia?
The late journalist-author Bealu Girma In Oromy stated that for the Derg regime, the only reliable persons were the Military.Civilians how much commited they are were not trusted.
.During the Woyane regime it appears that Meles’Kinsmen and women are the most trusted than the other ETHIOPIANS.Who is Dr. Tewodros Adhanom? Meles’cousion? Aeter all As Elias Kifle rightly put it,the present regime is a family regime.All those who are in power are persons from the same province.No wonder why, because the have a fear that they may loose political power ,
The other point which I would like to raise is that the Amharas, the second largest group and the main target of the Woyane don,t have a representative at the highest echelon of the government as Addisu Legesse is also the kinsman of Meles Zenawi. For the health of Ethiopian compatriots, I pray to God to bring healing and deliverance to Ethiopia. At the same time, we should also fully discharge our responsibility by sending money,medicins to our affected relatives and compatriots. We should make a two-pronged struggle-to struggle against the diabolical regime and extend assistance to our fellow countrymen and women.
Even though Elias’s piece does not address the fundamental problem, it definitely raises an important issue. The article makes one think about all the other problems now facing Ethiopia such economy, social services, political system, health care and all the other issues. Ethiopia has become synonymous with famine, poverty, war, debt and food aid. No one should be upset about my previous sentence since this is the reality we live with day in day out. This has been going on for decades. One should ask oneself how we got to this position?? Sometimes learning from others is not only wise but productive. For example our northern neighbor Eritrea has made significant strides in all fields in the last few years! How did they manage to control malaria? (American journal of tropical medicine and hygine, 2006). How did they decrease maternal and infant mortality by 30-40%? (Refer to UN). How did they control HIV/AIDS and reduced the rate? ( refer to Worl health organization). How did they manage to build more community health clinics in almost every village and created referal hospitals in all regions? How did they manage to build so many dams and cultivate so many lands that they will be self sufficiently by 2010 and are excluded from UN food emergency for 2008 according to UN! (while Ethiopia, Sudan, Djoubuti, Somalia and Kenya are on the emergency food aid list for 2008). Eritrea is doing all these without international aid and debt (it is the least indebted country in Africa according to the world bank). These people are silently but surely doing their homework and building their country. So my question is how are they doing it! May be we can learn something from them. Sure we can! About a month ago several African countries including the UN and the world bank convened in Eritrea for a week long workshop on health care and preventive medicine. They are trying to apply the Eritrean model in other African countries. All the attendees were convinced that the success was due to committed government leadership and community involvement. It is not monetary or whether one is educated in Russia or Mars. So instead of people regurgitate the 3000 or more years Ethiopian history, it is time people start to work sincerely to change the country and the region. It is a communal hard work.
I think it’s wrong how nobody’s doing anything about this problem and people wanna complain about others dying, then they should do something about for an example people should make signs or announcement to the country about what that doctor is doing to innocent people.
Tewabech says:
Ethiopia’s health care is under fire, stop blaming each other, and try to save the life for our people. Please ,let’s be civilized, live the differences of our religions, political and tribes behind, and find a way to work together.life is too short