Breaking the Silence

Women’s Healthcare in Ethiopia is often overlooked with medical care being prioritized to men and children. All too often, women are suffering, or even dying, because their condition has gone untreated or undiagnosed.

Ethiopiaid recently partnered with a new project which aims to provide a lifeline for women in Addis Ababa with dedicated screening and treatment facilities for female healthcare only. This service will be available to all regardless of wealth or background. We visited the new premises and were extremely impressed by the standard of the clinic which was clean, well equipped and already seeing patients. The clinic is currently focusing on cervical cancer and they hope to use their treatment records to collate invaluable data on the prevalence of cervical cancer in Ethiopia and on how effective the use of a vaccine would be (by identifying the most common types of HPV – the virus which can cause the disease).

On the same day, we also visited a project in the Merkato district of Addis which operates a drop in centre for young girls who have been involved in prostitution. Everyday, more and more young people migrate to Addis in search of opportunity. Many are uneducated and have no accommodation or money and their desperation is often exploited.

The project is taking an integrated approach to tackling this problem. Activites include campaigning for child rights through to a weekly street theatre, performed by those who visit the centre, to educate communities on issues including pregnancy, forced marriage and HIV. The drop in centre itself is a training facility for domestic work including cooking, cleaning and childcare. The aim of this is to provide skills to those who have escaped child prostitution so that they are able to generate a sustainable income through employment in local hotels and houses. We were invited to watch the street theatre in rehearsal followed by an enormous meal of international food which was prepared by the cookery class taking place – delicious!