The scenery is amazing - lush greens and red; camels, donkeys and goats; beautiful children waving and shouting ‘ferengi’ which means foreigner. I’m glad that I’ve been placed out of Addis, which is the nearest city, and in a more remote location.
I loved my house immediately! It’s above a family, with a gorgeous toddler and a puppy, which even I will admit is cute. I should have a functional fridge within a few days - a luxury for a volunteer but will be appreciated in this heat! Unfortunately, the pigeons appear to be rather fond of my kitchen, so on two occasions last week, I found a few of them in there. Suffice to say I make sure I close the door properly now! My bedroom is spacious and comfortable with a big bed and mosquito net. My shower only does cold but that’s no hardship as its above thirty degrees even first thing in the morning.
The population in Abi Adi is about thirty thousand people, but as the other nearest towns are 90-95km away, patients may travel up to 50km to be seen, meaning that the hospital caters for up to one million people. The most common occupation here is farming for both women and men, indicating how rural the area is.
My new work place and some of the challenges ahead
Tuberculosis (TB), pneumonia, malnutrition, parasital infections, severe anaemia and malaria are all common in Ethiopia. While there are mosquito nets above some beds in the hospital, I have rarely seen them used, which is shocking as malaria is the third highest cause of death.
Alcohol hand gel is few and far between and I have seen at least four dogs wandering around the hospital regularly, including inside the buildings! Whilst we have a blood bank, there is often no blood available and our chemistry machine has been broken since I arrived, meaning that we can’t perform simple blood tests.
There are around a thousand babies delivered at the hospital each year, with a much lower institutional delivery rate than in the UK. The Maternal and Newborn Health Initiative is aiming to increase the percentage of women having a skilled attendant at delivery to 60% by 2015. Patients labour on a multiple bedded ward until the second stage, when they are taken to the delivery room, which contains three beds and provides no privacy.
There is no antenatal monitoring- women may not see a health professional until they attend in labour and there is no routine ultrasound. Most women are unsure of their last menstrual period (LMP) and thus a wide range of gestations are regarded as ‘term’.
Why your support is vital
It’s an understatement to say that it’s been a steep learning curve – however my experiences so far have also confirmed for me why I’m here and also why your support is so desperately needed. There are already simple things that I’ve been able to introduce such as making sure the wards are cleaned properly, as it’s so important that mothers and newborn babies don’t catch infections.
There are a lot of things that have shocked me that I’d like to improve. My new colleagues at the Abi Adi Hospital are all very enthusiastic, which is a great start. It’s important for me to build relationships with them and observe how things work, so that I understand the culture and what is and isn’t possible. My aim is for the changes I make to be sustainable and that’s only possible if I have everyone on board!
Thank you so much for your support, I'm looking forward to telling you more about my progress and the people I’m helping in my next update!
Best wishes,
Alexa
