Ethiopia
Introduction
Maternity Worldwide works with Adventist Health International (AHI)
to help develop maternity services for Western Ethiopia. Maternity Worldwide has been responsible for running the delivery
unit in a new hospital in Gimbie, Western Ethiopia which opened in
August 2003.
We are providing skilled maternity staff and have
established a fund to help those least able to pay for care. Maternity
Worldwide instituted the West Wollega Safe Motherhood Project in an attempt to
lower the high levels of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality by
providing access to quality essential obstetric and neonatal care. The goal of
the project is to reduce morbidity and mortality of women as a result of
childbirth in West Wollega. The Big Lottery Fund grant, awarded in 2005, has allowed us to further improve maternal
health services in the whole Gimbie Province. We are achieving this
through setting up four rural clinics; improving communication between
clinics; employing additional healthcare practitioners; expanding the
'women's empowerment and education' groups to include 40 kebeles
(villages) in Gimbie province; commencing income generation projects
linked to animal husbandry; and supplying further equipment for the
care of maternity patients at Gimbie Adventist Hospital.
Project Goal and Objectives
Goal: To reduce maternal morbidity and deaths among women in West Wollega and consequently improve the health, well-being and economic stability of vulnerable women, their children, families and communities.
Objectives:
- To ensure stakeholder commitment and participation in all aspects of programme development and implementation through the establishment of programme steering groups with widespread representation from stakeholders and communities
- To establish income generating women's groups through which women gain knowledge and influence within their communities, and increase their financial resources.
- To establish community education programme addressing women's status and rights, preventative health measures, and in particular education around reproductive and maternal health issues.
- To improve access to high quality maternal health services, that are locally appropriate and informed by community engagement, contributing to reduced pregnancy related deaths and long-term illness.
The activities are both clinical and community based.
Hospital based:
- Staff training
- Provision of equipment, drugs and supplies
Community based activities:
- Women's groups
- Community Education
- Safe Birth Fund (SBF)
- Steering group attendance
- Number of Women`s Groups established
- Health Education sessions provided
- Deliveries at Gimbie Adventist Hospital and clinics
- Skilled birth attendant training attendance
- Obstetric cover at Gimbie Adventist Hospital
Gimbie Adventist Hospital
Gimbie Adventist Hospital (GAH) is located in Gimbie Town, West Wollega
Zone in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia, approximately 450km west of
Addis Ababa.
The region is very mountainous and Gimbie itself is located at an altitude of approximately 2000 meters. There are essentially two seasons in Gimbie - the dry season and the rainy season. The rains begin around the end of May and last through September. During the dry season temperatures are around 20 to 28C, but during the rainy season it can be quite cool, especially in the evenings.
West Wollega population and health services
West Wollega Zone has a population of approximately 2.03 million.
Within West Wollega there are 2 government hospitals in Dembidolo and
Nejo and 2 private hospitals in Aira Guliso and Gimbie. However, each
of these hospitals has no greater than 75 inpatient beds and in the
government hospitals the number is less. Therefore, for the entire
population, there are less than 300 inpatient beds available. All
hospitals are located at least 70 km or 2 hours driving from each other.
GAH serves the residents of Gimbie Town (approximately 40,000) and the
rural communities living in the environs of Gimbie (approximately
200,000). The majority of the population are subsistence farmers, with
per capita income below the international poverty line of US$1 per day.
GAH ownership, management and staff
GAH is owned by the Ethiopian Church of Seventh Day Adventists and has been in operation since 1947. Since 1999 GAH has been under the management of an International NGO, Adventist Health International (AHI). The hospital is recognised by Oromia Health Bureau as a 'not for profit private institution'. AHI provides technical assistance and managerial personnel, however the majority of staff are local. In December 2005 there were 138 hospital employees and 37 clinic employees.
Facilities and services provided:
In 2002 a new 71 bed hospital building was opened. The new hospital
provides the full range of inpatient and outpatient services including
medicine, surgery, paediatrics, infectious diseases, maternal and
reproductive health care. There is a small X ray department and a small
physiotherapy department.
There are seven rural clinics managed by the hospital. The nearest
(Dalati) is only 24km from Gimbie while the furthest (Green Lake) is
227km distance.
In addition to treatment services both GAH and clinics provide
community health outreach including maternal and child health care,
immunisation and health education.
