Health
Is Everywhere

Where: Fitche, Ethiopia​

​

Over the last two decades, Ethiopia has decreased its maternal and child mortality rates, as well as its HIV and malaria infection and death rates. Despite all of these advances, major challenges remain. Ethiopia's tumultuous history of conflict, war, and famine over the past half century has had a significant impact on the health services available to the Ethiopian population.The emergency department is often an individual’s entry point into a hospital like Fitche. Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief (CPAR) is committed to improving health systems in Ethiopia – and thereby the health of communities – and in 2016 we launched the Health Systems Strengthening at Fitche Hospital project..Fitche Hospital is a 102-bed zone hospital located approximately 125 km from Addis Ababa in the Fitche District of the North Shoa Zone of Oromia. This is one of the poorest regions in the world and has one of the highest newborn child mortality rates in the country. Fitche Hospital serves approximately 1.5 million people and is a referral center for 57 Health Centres and 297 Health Posts in North Shoa Zone. Resources (both personnel skills and medical equipment) in this hospital are markedly limited. CPAR’s Healthy Communities project was a three-year initiative, which aims to strengthen the capacity of patient services in North Shoa Zone of Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia.​The goal of the Healthy Communities project was to improve Fitche Hospital’s ability to provide health services in Oromia region, with an emphasis on strengthening its emergency medicine provision. This was a people-centric project, focusing on knowledge transfer from Canadian medical expertise to the Fitche Hospital through a knowledge-sharing partnership between Canadian medical practitioners and the medical staff at the Fitche Hospital and the procurement of necessary medical equipment and supplies to the hospital.