Articles about Ethiopia

Bilan* is a 17-year-old girl from Dire Dawa in Ethiopia. She is from the Somali community in Ethiopia. Her father and sister died leaving behind Bilan, her mother and grandmother. At the beginning of 2017, her mother and grandmother decided to marry her off to a 27-year-old man. When they married me off, in their hearts of hearts, they felt that they were doing the right thing because they wanted a better life for me. Although I did not want to get married this young, I had no choice. In the recent past, two girls from my neighbourhood got pregnant out of wedlock and abandoned their children in the local hospital. Being pregnant while unmarried is unacceptable in the Somali Muslim community. When the story came out, my family decided that this was not going to be my fate. If I got pregnant before marriage, my mother and grandmother would have to bear the shame, furthermore the community would blame them for my immorality. With this in mind, they forced me to get married. (Bilan stares into space and weeps uncontrollably). This still hurts me. Although I eventually accepted to get married, it was with a lot of bitterness because I wanted to complete school. I was in the eighth grade when I dropped out of school. When I moved in with my husband I came up with a plan; to get vocational training. I talked to my uncle about going to his salon to learn hairdressing and the salon business generally, to which he agreed and was open to helping me. When I requested my husband to allow me to go for this training, he refused. He did not want me to work. He wanted me to stay home while he worked. Unfortunately, his income was meagre and could not sustain us.  I got frustrated. It was also an unhappy environment for me. I asked him for a divorce and he obliged. Unfortunately, when all this happened I got sick, when I went to hospital, they told me I was pregnant. I refused to accept this. How could I be pregnant now with all the plans I had? Since I did not trust the results, I went to another hospital and they confirmed the same. I realised that I must have conceived when I missed some of my pills. I estimate this to be about 12 weeks ago. This situation made me restless and troubled me a lot. I couldn’t imagine having a baby all by myself. Now that I was single single it will bring shame to my family, I also did not want to raise a baby without its father. I don’t want my fate to be that of my baby’s. I would like my children to be born in a marriage setting. I also want my children to get an education, something that I did not get. I first heard about family planning (FP) from my sister. She is using injectables which she got from the government hospital. I went to the government hospital where they strongly encouraged me to use the injectable, which I did not want, I preferred pills (microgynon). When I told my sister that I wanted to use my method of choice and get more information on family planning she advised me to go to the Family Guidance of Ethiopia (FGAE) clinics as they have a wide range of quality services. She also told me that they are very supportive and once I went there, their services were for life. My visit there was very productive. After counselling I felt that I was not in the state of mind to have a child, there was too much at stake. I knew then that I needed to terminate the pregnancy. I selected medical abortion because I did not want anyone inserting instruments in me. I also decided to take up the implant as my preferred family planning method because I do not want to worry about getting pregnant before I achieve what I want to do in life. Initially, I was afraid of pain associated with getting the implant but the service provider assured me that I would not feel any pain. I honestly did not even realize when it was put because the service provider kept me occupied throughout. I would recommend FGAE to my friends and people in my community. Their services are good and dispel any fears and misconceptions about reproductive health one has. I also like that they do not discriminate, their services promote clients’ privacy and confidentiality. I came with a friend and they do not even know what services I came for. I would like to see FGAE reaching women in my Kebele so that they can provide information to girls on unsafe abortion and FP. Many of the unplanned pregnancies among girls in my community can be prevented.  When I came for the services I did not have any money so FGAE provided these services for free. I would want girls in my community to know that they can come here and I would want them to take up a method based on counselling and not misinformation provided by neighbours and friends in the community. FGAE is a Member Association (MA) of the International Planned Parenthood Federation Africa Region (IPPFAR). IPPFAR is the leading sexual reproductive health provider in the region with over 94 million SRH services offered in 2016 alone. Contraception and HIV services take up the bulk of the services provided. Currently, abortion services are available within the countries that have permitted it within their laws and policies. Story compiled by Muthoni Wachira, IPPFAR *Name has been changed to protect the identity of the individual

By Maryanne W. Waweru Monday 30 January 2017, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The IPPF Africa Region Director Mr. Lucien Kouakou today paid a visit to the IPPF Member Association in Ethiopia –Family Guidance Association of Ethiopia (FGAE). During his visit, Mr. Kouakou met with FGAE members of staff including the Executive Director Ms. Genet Mengistu, whom he congratulated for their remarkable work in providing quality sexual reproductive health services to millions of Ethiopians. Mr. Kouakou, who is in the capital city of Addis Ababa attending activities around the 28th AU Summit, encouraged the members of staff to carry on with their commendable work. “We are proud of FGAE. Just last year, the organization celebrated 50 years of exemplary service and success in Ethiopia. FGAE is recognized as the pioneer organization for the introduction of family planning in the country, and five decades later, it is one of the leading providers of comprehensive, integrated, quality and gender-sensitive sexual reproductive health programs and services focusing on youth, underserved and vulnerable populations in Ethiopia. In addition, the success of FGAE’s Learning Center, which works closely with the Government and other partners in building the capacity of healthcare providers in Ethiopia through provision of needs-based quality sexual reproductive health training, is admirable. Indeed, the laudable success of FGAE is to be emulated not only in Ethiopia, but across Africa,” he said. Mr. Kouakou also assured FGAE of IPPF’s continued technical, financial and material support in regards to achievements of the organization’s goals. He further encouraged the Member Association to strive to establish and maintain formidable partnerships with other development stakeholders in the country, among them the Government, international, regional and national organizations, as well as local grassroots entities. “If we are to achieve our goals for sustainable development, then we must embrace the partnership of other organizations that share in our vision and the vision of ‘the Africa we Want’. When organizations work together, then they are able to accelerate development goals of the country and the continent, he said. The Regional Director further encouraged the Member Association to step up its efforts in resource mobilization, especially from domestic sources. “The African continent must steer its own development. We have to drive our own development agenda by investing our resources into innovative development-driven initiatives. Funding our own programmes will help avert some of the challenges that many development institutions face today –such as dwindling international donor funds or complete cut-back of funds. It is time for Africa to support Africa’s development through ventures such as domestic funding,” he said. In July last year, IPPF Africa Region launched the African Citizens Initiative (ACI) for sexual and reproductive health, which is a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign that aligns with the Africa Union’s Agenda 2063 commitment to the principle of self-reliance as well as the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. The FGAE Executive Director, Ms. Genet Mengistu reiterated FGAE’s commitment to serving millions of Ethiopian men, women, youth and children through its unmatched services. She further reiterated the Regional Director’s call for the establishment of strategic partnerships with other development players towards the achievement of the organization’s goals. “We will endeavor to seek more partnerships at all levels, as this will help boost the delivery of our wide range of services. While in Addis Ababa, among key meetings that the Regional Director has participated in is the Forum of African Parliamentarians on Population and Development (FPA) side event, in which he called for more investment in family planning, girls and young people in the realization of harnessing the demographic dividend. He also called on African Parliamentarians to deliver on their commitments to the Dakar Declaration, in their capacity as key influencers. “Parliamentarians have the ability to influence their colleagues to push for the support and implementation of policies and legislations, especially those related to youth, health, population and development. They can call for more budgetary allocation to related Ministries such as those of Youth, Gender and Social Affairs, Health, Education Planning and Development, as well as other institutions that focus on the youth and their reproductive health. They can also take the lead in seeking innovative ways of mobilizing resources at the local level that would champion population and related issues. Seeking African solutions to African problems through domestic funding is one way to realizing Africa’s development, and we count on our Parliamentarians to champion this cause,” he said. Read the full article here: African Parliamentarians are Key to the Realization of the Demographic Dividend Story by Maryanne W. Waweru. For more updates on our work, follow us on Facebook and Twitter

By Maryanne W. Waweru Wednesday 25 January 2017, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Hon. Munah E. Pelham-Youngblood, the youngest-ever elected Legislator in Liberia, says that young people -who form the largest population in Africa, must take up their role in holding to account their governments on their various pledges and commitments made. This, she says, is an accelerated step towards their improved livelihoods. Speaking during a panel discussion at the 9th African Union Gender Pre-Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in a session titled: “Investing in Young People’s Political Engagement”, Hon. Pelham-Youngblood stressed on the fact that accountability is a critical element necessary for citizens and young people’s access to basic services. “Openness, transparency and accountability by our governments and leaders are essential for development. The civil society, the private sector and the government must be involved in this process,” she said, while encouraging young people to take part in the various accountability processes available to them. “In monitoring the resources for better delivery of services and fostering accountability, citizens should participate in different processes, among them: public policy making, participatory planning and budgeting, monitoring of public funds, and procurement monitoring and preparing citizen’s report cards on access to quality public services.” The Member of Parliament however noted the challenges that citizens face in their quest for accountability from their leaders. “In many African countries, citizens do not have a voice and dare not speak negatively of those in authority for fear of reprisal. In fact, there are cases where those who have done so have been threatened and even jailed! This should however not discourage young people for demanding for quality services, which is their right. Supportive legislations must be put in place and enforced, to ensure that youth have access to public information and are protected whenever they raise questions,” she said. Hon. Pelham-Youngblood spoke of the various ways young people can raise issues in their community: “Young people should complain about unsatisfactory service and report this to the necessary individuals responsible for bringing change. In the event that change does not happen, they could then share evidence-based information with the media, with the latter playing their role in the process of accountability by sharing information with the public.” The Parliamentarian also urged young people to remain firm in their principles and values even as they demand for accountability. “As young people, we must never be compromised. We must be people of integrity. I encourage you to remain focused on your goal, and be determined to stand for the truth and seek justice no matter the situation, and regardless of the opposition or enticements that may come your way in order to influence your decision to stand for the truth,” she said. IPPFAR works with African Parliamentarians through the Africa Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development (FPA), in which Hon. Pelham-Youngblood is a member. FPA seeks to create an enabling environment at continental level to promote dialogue and cooperation among Parliamentarians, to increase ability of countries and regional communities, and to establish policies and plans of action based on evidence and in-depth analysis on population dynamics focusing on the demographic dividend.   Story by Maryanne W. Waweru, IPPF Africa Region. For more updates on our work, follow IPPF Africa Region on Facebook and Twitter