Dear [[FirstName]],

The people of the Somali region in south-eastern Ethiopia have long suffered from the effects of severe and cyclical drought: the failure of crops, the death of cattle, and, ultimately, recurrent famine. Years of interclan rivalry have plagued the area, and in the past few months a conflict between the Ethiopian military and separatist insurgents has jeopardized the health and safety of the region’s population.

Inevitably, the persistent poverty and insecurity have taken their toll on the region’s healthcare system. The Somali region has only 55 qualified medical doctors, serving a population of 4.4 million people; that’s one doctor for every 800,000 people. The World Health Organization recommends one doctor for approximately every 1,000 people. To reach a health clinic, the sick or injured must journey on foot for hours, or sometimes days.

Lack of access to medical care also means that Somali women receive little to no prenatal care, and that they rely mainly on traditional birth attendants to deliver their children. Although the birth attendants are respected members of the community, they often use aggressive, unsanitary delivery techniques that can be harmful to the health of pregnant women and their babies. Almost one-quarter of the women who die in the Somali region lose their lives during childbirth. And more than one in ten children in rural Ethiopia die before they reach the age of five. Some die due to complications during delivery, while others die from malnutrition or preventable childhood illnesses such as diarrhea and respiratory infections.

International Medical Corps is addressing this problem in the most straightforward, culturally sensitive way possible. Our reproductive health program trains traditional birth attendants to deliver babies in a safe and sanitary manner, and to monitor the health of mothers and infants through follow-up visits to the women’s homes. With this simple and effective program, IMC is quietly transforming childbirth in rural Ethiopia, and saving lives in the process.

Sincerely,

Seifu Woldeamanuel
IMC Country Director, Ethiopia

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