Health

Working together towards a healthier future

Eye ailments, AIDS, malaria and infections are among the biggest threats. Few people in rural Ethiopia have easy access to good medical treatment.

We are working on improving health care facilities by providing rural health centres with medical equipment to enable operations and organize immunization programmes. An important role is also played by HIV/AIDS education, advice on the avoidance of diseases and family planning. Training programmes for nursing staff and awareness-raising campaigns ensure the sustainability of the measures.

Our activities

Basic medical care
Family planning
HIV/AIDS prevention
Healthcare facilities
Support for individual cases

The causes of many diseases

Due to a lack of clean drinking water, people in rural Ethiopia often resort to drinking dirty, bacteria-contaminated water. Poor hygienic conditions and a lack of information on how to prevent or treat diseases only exacerbate the problem. Healthcare in the event of illness is usually inadequate or simply nonexistent. Malnutrition and an unbalanced diet resulting from a lack of crop diversification also contribute to the fragile health of the population in rural regions.

Support for medical staff

Menschen für Menschen conducts training seminars on HIV prevention, immunization, hygiene, safe obstetrics or eye health. They are addressed to medical staff such as nurses, health advisers and traditional midwives. Eye surgery is carried out by specially trained employees of Menschen für Menschen or by specialists.

Health education in the villages

The measures to provide and improve government healthcare provision are embedded in numerous other activities for information and awareness-raising in the population. Social workers are actively engaged in the villages and schools to educate population on topics such as the importance of hygiene in avoiding infections and parasitic diseases, maintenance of eye health, methods of family planning or protection from HIV infection.