About Ethiopia: A short history | Economy | Further reading

About Ethiopia: Ethiopia Factsheet

• Population 75 million (DFID)

• Average annual income is $141 (DFID)

• 74.2 % of children are enrolled in Primary school ( DFID) Schooling is only available for half a day

• The average life expectancy is 48 years ( UN Childrens Fund 2007)

• Of every 1000 children born alive, 123 die before the age of five years ( Ethiopia Demographic and Health Service)

• There are 673 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births (Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey 2005)

• 1.4% of those aged 15-49 years are living with HIV or AIDS ( Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey)

• 8.6 million men, women and children were relying on food aid in 2005. (EC Diagnostic Survey 2006)

• 36% of the population have access to safe and clean water ( Welfare and Monitoring Survey 2004)

• People: Oromo 40%, Amhara and Tigre 32%, Sidamo 9%, Shankella 6%, Somali 6%,Afar 4%,Gurage 2%, other 1%. ( Foreign and Commonwealth Office)

• Religion(s) Orthodox Christianity 35 - 40%, Islam 45 - 50%, animist 12%, other 3 -8%. ( Foreign and Commonwealth Office)

• Ethiopia is roughly twice the area of France

Health issues

Malaria

Malaria is one of the most serious health threats in Ethiopia. The disease has been consistently reported as one of the top three leading causes of morbidity and mortality in Ethiopia over the years. In 2004 and 2005 it was the first cause of morbidity and mortality, accounting for 16.6% of out patient consultations, 15 % of admissions and 29 %of deaths. It has also been documented in a nationwide child survey study that malaria affects school attendance by 20% and contributes to 47% of child deaths in Ethiopia' (Ethiopian Health Ministry quoted in IRIN).

A study published in the East African Medical Journal in April 2005 estimated that some six million malaria cases ocurred in Ethiopia during the last epidemic between April and December 2003, with up to 114,000 fatalities.

HIV / AIDS

In Ethiopia 2.2% of the population suffer from HIV/AIDS with 1.5 million people affected (Ethiopian Ministry of Health 2004) HIV remains more prevalent in the urban areas of Ethiopia. HIV /AIDS threatens to seriously undermine poverty reduction in the country. Young people are most at risk, and the HIV rate is higher amongst young women and adolescent girls. In rural areas young girls tend to have less information about HIV and less access to services.

According to UN Aids

'There are still a number of underlying factors that contribute to the spread of HIV in Ethiopia. These include illiteracy, stigma and discrimination of those living with HIV and affected by the epidemic, high rate of unemployment, widespread commercial sex work, gender disparity, population movements including rural to urban migration, and harmful cultural and traditional practices.'

(source http://www.unaids.org/en/Regions_Countries/Countries/ethiopia.asp)

There is hope - UN Aids have reported a decline in recent years in prevelance rates of HIV in urban parts of Ethiopia.

TB

Ethiopia is one of the top three countries in Africa with regard to the highest number of patients with TB.(Centre for National Health Development in Ethiopia) Poverty leading to malnutrition and severe overcrowding with bad lighting and poor ventilation increases the prevalence of TB. People living in poverty are more susceptible to diseases such as TB, when a person contractsTB this   takes them from being economically active and leads to further poverty. Progression from infection to disease is highly related to poverty

The interaction of TB and HIV/Aids significantly increases the likelihood of both diseases progressing.