Tag: Ethiopia

Africa, Blog, Ethiopia, Food Security

New Photos Show Atrocities in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region

Since last November, Ethiopia and Eritrea’s militaries as well as militia groups from Ethiopia’s Amhara region have imposed heavy atrocities on the country’s northern Tigray region. Reports from the ground from journalists and aid agencies reveal mass rapes, murders, and intentional starvation of 350,000 of the region’s 6 million people. Farmers are not being allowed to plant their crops and food trucks are being turned around at gunpoint.

Yesterday, the New York Times published photos by conflict photographer Lydnsey Addario who captured some of the sufferings in Tigray including rape survivors to children who have been caught in the crossfire.

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Africa, Blog, Environment and Climate, Sustainability, Sustainable Development Goals

To Combat Climate Change Ethiopia Plants Over 350 Million Trees in 12 Hours

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now. Chinese Proverb One of my favorite countries in the world is Ethiopia. I have had the pleasure of visiting four times traversing the north and south and find it gorgeous in so many regions. I cannot wait to go back one day to see all of its rapid changes. Yesterday, … Continue reading To Combat Climate Change Ethiopia Plants Over 350 Million Trees in 12 Hours

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Blog, Liya Kebede, Liya Kebede Foundation, Maternal Health, maternal health summer series, Women and Girls

Maternal Health Heroes: Interview With Liya Kebede #MHHSS

We are excited to publish our fourth interview in our Maternal Health Heroes Summer Series with Liya Kebede, Supermodel and Founder of the Liya Kebede Foundation. Throughout the summer we will speak with some of the most notable maternal health advocates in the world ahead of the Global Maternal Newborn Health Conference that will be held in Mexico City between October 18 – 21, 2015. Follow the conversation at #MHHSS.

LiyaLiya Kebede is an accomplished designer, supermodel, actress and maternal health advocate. She has been featured on multiple American and international Vogue covers, has appeared in runway shows and major print campaigns for top designers around the world, and is a global brand ambassador for L’Oreal in the cosmetic, skincare, and hair care categories.  Kebede founded The Liya Kebede Foundation (lkfound.org) in 2005 with the mission to reduce maternal and newborn mortality.  In 2007 she launched the clothing line lemlem, (lemlem.com) meaning to bloom and flourish in Amharic.  The line is handwoven in Ethiopia and recently began expanding into other categories while maintaining production in Africa. In recognition of her body of work, Kebede was named one of Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People” in 2010. 

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Jennifer James3 Comments
Addis Ababa, Africa, Blog, Ethiopia, girls, Women

Featured Photos: Ethiopian Women Gain Access to Trade Markets

These trainees are at a project known as “Connecting 1,500 Women and Girls to the Export Market”. The project was created in 2014 by Ethiopia’s First Lady, Mrs. Roman Tesfaye and trains women and girls to develop skills in industries such as leather, weaving, basketry, embroidery, gemstones, and spinning and connect them to global markets to increase the trade of their goods.

“Ethiopia has ambitious visions and dreams for women,” said First Lady Tesfaye. “We want to see women not only come out from the shackles of poverty but become the engines and drivers of our development.”

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon visited the project during the Financing for Development Conference in Addis Ababa.

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Africa, Asia, Blog, Children, Frontline Health Workers, Malaria/ Tuberculosis, Maternal Health, newborn health, Women and Girls

Kicking Off World Health Worker Week Through Photos and Stories #WHWWeek

To kick off World Health Worker Week (April 5 – 11) we are sharing photos and stories of some of the health workers we’ve met around the world over the years who work tirelessly to keep women, children, and families healthy and most importantly alive.

In the sub-Saharan and Asian countries where we have met these health workers, many of the ailments they treat every day can cause severe illness in their patients and even death. That is why it is important to not only provide the much-needed resources and support health workers need to do their jobs effectively and train many more health workers, it’s also important to thank them for the work they do. That is why World Health Worker Week was started — to celebrate health workers, but also to acknowledge the challenges they face every day and help rally the world’s global health community, civil society, and governments to fix those health worker challenges.

Continue reading “Kicking Off World Health Worker Week Through Photos and Stories #WHWWeek”

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Africa, Blog, Family Planning, Maternal Health, Women and Girls

Ethiopian Health Workers Receive Influx of Family Planning Training

In sub-Saharan Africa, 49 million women use traditional methods of family of no family planning methods at all. In Ethiopia, 39.1 percent of women use modern contraceptives up from 15 percent in 2005. The current low rate of contraceptive use in Ethiopia is a result of a combination of factors: cultural biases as well as a lack of trained health workers that can reach every woman … Continue reading Ethiopian Health Workers Receive Influx of Family Planning Training

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Africa, Asia, Blog, Clean Water and Sanitation, Water

Photos: Why World Toilet Day Matters

The first time I saw open defecation was in a slum in Delhi. I was taken aback. I had always heard about open defecation, but until that point I had never seen it and couldn’t imagine it happening in an overly crowded urban area. It was also at that moment that I knew I had to learn as much as possible about the ways in which people use the bathroom, if they have one at all.

2.5 billion people lack improved sanitation and 1 billion people do not have access to a bathroom and must resort to the undignified practice of open defecation. There are 7 billion people on the planet.

Women who must defecate in the open and who also have to use the community toilets are at increased risk of violence and rape.

When I visit communities and families in low-income countries I always look for toilets and latrines to see the conditions in which people relieve themselves. Below are some photos of toilets I took in India, Ethiopia, Philippines, and South Africa.

Learn more about World Toilet Day at www.unwater.org/worldtoiletday.

Latrine - South Africa
Community toilet – Alexandra Township – Johannesburg, South Africa

Community toilet - Alexandra Township - Johannesburg, South Africa
Community toilet – Alexandra Township – Johannesburg, South Africa

Community toilet - Alexandra Township - Johannesburg, South Africa
Community toilet – Alexandra Township – Johannesburg, South Africa

Continue reading “Photos: Why World Toilet Day Matters”

Jennifer James8 Comments
Africa, Blog, newborn health

Photos from the Field: NeoNatalie Newborn Educational Mannequin

In low-resource settings across the globe midwives are learning about the critical first hour after birth that can keep more newborns alive through Helping Babies Breathe training. In Yetoban, Ethiopia at Project Mercy midwives take skills labs classes that will utilize the NeoNatalie Newborn educational mannequin. Midwifery training at Project Mercy is through a partnership between Jhpiego, USAID, and Project Mercy that will feed qualified, well-trained midwives … Continue reading Photos from the Field: NeoNatalie Newborn Educational Mannequin

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Africa, Blog, Maternal Health, newborn health, Preterm Birth, Women and Girls

Photos from the Field: Expectant Mother Seeks Help in “Lie and Wait” House #Ethiopia

Expectant woman, Ayelech Fikadu, and her mother, Zarge Badunga sit in a “lie and wait” house at Project Mercy outside of Butajira, Ethiopia. The house was recently renovated by USAID and Pathfinder. Butajira is located in Ethiopia’s southern highlands where many live in the mountains. Women who live in the mountains have a difficult time delivering their babies at a hospital or health center due … Continue reading Photos from the Field: Expectant Mother Seeks Help in “Lie and Wait” House #Ethiopia

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Africa, Blog, Maternal Health, newborn health, Women and Girls

Photo From the Field: Nine-Day-Old Newborn

This woman in Mosebo village, 43 kilometers from Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, holds her nine-day-old baby and quickly quiets him by breastfeeding him in her home. Save the Children is working diligently with the Ethiopian Federal Government to properly train health extension workers and provide continuing education for the workers to help save the lives of vulnerable newborns. Through its widely-recognized, global program, Saving Newborn Lives, Save the … Continue reading Photo From the Field: Nine-Day-Old Newborn

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Africa, Blog, Maternal Health, Women and Girls

Photos from the Field: Child Marriage

This is a young, expectant mother who lives near Butajira, Ethiopia. She was married at 13 and will deliver her first child at 15. She walked to this “lie and wait” house (pictured above) because of excessive bleeding. She lives 30 minutes up in the mountains of southern Ethiopia from the “lie and wait” house. She has never seen a health extension worker and has never … Continue reading Photos from the Field: Child Marriage

Jennifer James4 Comments
Africa, Blog, Maternal Health, newborn health, Poverty, Preterm Birth, Women and Girls

How Ethiopia is Scaling Midwifery to Save More Mothers, Newborns

Addis Ababa- In Ethiopia there are 4.9 million pregnancies each year of which 84% take place in rural areas. Here in Ethiopia, where the vast majority of women deliver at home, only 32% of maternal, newborn and child health needs are being met by midwives according to the newly released State of Midwifery Report. That is troubling for a country that is making noticeable strides to save … Continue reading How Ethiopia is Scaling Midwifery to Save More Mothers, Newborns

Jennifer James4 Comments
Blog, Women and Girls

[Photos] Honoring Women and Girls We’ve Met Around the World

Today on International Women’s Day we honor all of the women and girls we’ve met throughout our travels! Want to celebrate International Women’s Day in an impactful way? Read 4 Easy, But Impactful Ways to Celebrate International Women’s Day. PHILIPPINES ETHIOPIA BRAZIL INDIA ZAMBIA TANZANIA KENYA SOUTH AFRICA Continue reading [Photos] Honoring Women and Girls We’ve Met Around the World

Jennifer James3 Comments
Africa, Blog, Charity, Women and Girls

The Importance of Clean Cookstoves – A Personal Experience

When I was in Tanzania in October I went into a traditional Massai hut where a mother was inside making beans in a kettle over a red hot fire. The fire was ridiculously hot and I couldn’t believe how the woman and her family could endure the heat and smoke from cooking. While I was in Ethiopia last year observing frontline health workers with Save … Continue reading The Importance of Clean Cookstoves – A Personal Experience

Jennifer James2 Comments
Africa, Blog, Family Planning

10 Top Tweets from the Family Planning Conference: Day 2

Choosing ten top tweets from day two of the International Conference on Family Planning wasn’t easy.  Thousands of experts, researchers, those representing NGOs, and stakeholders are in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia this week at the largest conference on family planning and reproductive health. Below are ten tweets we feel are informative and provide fantastic discussion points about the issues and solutions for family planning access and … Continue reading 10 Top Tweets from the Family Planning Conference: Day 2

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