Ethiopia News

Rotarians from the USA and Canada paid  a courtesy visit to WHO Ethiopia on 6 October  2015, and were warmly welcomed  in a traditional coffee ceremony. The team also met and interacted with the staff of WHO Ethiopia Country Office Expanded Program on Immunization Team.

World Polio Day (WPD) was commemorated on 24 October 2015 at Addis Ababa National Assembly Hall in the presence of the Ethiopian Government, partners: WHO, UNICEF, USAID, and Rotary International and allies CCRDA/ CORE Group. This celebration inspired attendees and viewers to join the Polio eradication effort as Ethiopia is near the finish line: 2018.

ADDIS ABABA, 23 October 2015 | Marking the occasion of World Polio Day 2015, the World Health Organization, UNICEF and Rotary International, jointly reaffirm their commitment to ensure Ethiopia joins all countries in a polio-free world by 2018 – the global target for polio eradication world-wide. 

The 17th Sub-National Immunization Days werelaunched on 8 October 2015 at Shinille Town of Somali Region. Present at the launching were Acting Head of the Somali Regional Health Bureau Mr Abdulfatah Said, Rotary National Polio Plus (NPPC) Chair DR Tadesse Alemu, Past District Governer (PDG) Mr Ezra Teshome, members of the visiting Rotary International team from the USA and Canada, government officials, WHO Representative Dr 

Capital, a weekly business newspaper, interviewed Dr Pierre M'pele-Kilebou, WHO Representative in Ethiopia, on the ongoing efforts towards polio eradication in Africa. Click on the link below to read the interview.

A tree planting event took place at Ethiopian Heritage Trust, Entoto, on 4 October 2015 to celebrate Ethiopia – free of polio. The State Mnister of Health, Dr Kebede Worku, World Health Organization (WHO) Representative Dr Pierre M'pele-Kilebou, Rotarians from USA and Canada, Rotaractors and other partners such as Core Group, L10K (The Last 10 Kilometers) and other UN agencies were also part of the event. 

On 11 October 2015, Rotary honoured Dr Pierre M'pele-Kilebou as a Paul Harris Fellow for his tremendous effort towards eradicating polio from Ethiopia, and appreciating tangible and significant assistance given for the furtherance of better understanding and friendly relations among peoples of the world. Speaking at the event that took place at Hiber Traditional Restaurant, Addis Ababa,  Dr Pierre M'pele-Kilebou said,“I thank Rotary for the recognition and award. However, this award belongs to all my colleagues who contributed much towards the polio eradication effort."

A joint WHO mission composed of Ethiopia Country Office, the Africa Regional Office and the Horn of Africa Office for Polio Response Coordination visited health facilities and refugee communities in Gambella Regional State on 5 and 6 August 2015. The mission aimed to strengthen support to the refugee emergency response in the Region.

Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Civil Society (CSOs) members expressed their interest to integrate Tuberculosis (TB) in their respective program areas to contribute to the fight against Tuberculosis and contribute to the reduction of incidence, prevalence and death related to TB. This was during a one-day sensitization workshop on the ENGAGE-TBapproach held on 27 August 2015 in Adama, bringing together 30 participants from NGOs and CSOs working in different programmatic areas, including HIV/AIDS, Maternal Health, Child Health and other community-based programs.

Malaria has put an estimated 3.3 billion people – 40% of the world population – at risk, killing 584,000 people worldwide, 90% these in Africa.