2011 Grant Recipient 
Ethiopia
MHS Program, Department of International Health, JHSPH
Under the financial support from President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Jhpiego has been supporting the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) and national non-Governmental Organizations such as the Family Guidance Association of Ethiopia (FGAE) in HIV Counseling and Testing (HCT) to build human capacity in training of trainers, develop training packages and institute best practices. Some of the best practices instituted, address the ongoing HIV related need of clients and the integration of family planning (FP) into Voluntary HIV Counseling and Testing (VCT) services in eight FGAE model clinics. Personal Narrative:
As I stepped off the plane on a rainy June morning in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia I was overwhelmed with excitement and anticipation for the new experiences lying ahead. Although I had spent time living abroad, I had never before lived or worked in a low-income country. My studies in international health at Johns Hopkins over the past year, however, had peaked my interest in working in East Africa and I felt fortunate to be given the opportunity to work in Ethiopia. I was eager to begin my job and start my new life in Addis. Addis Ababa is a bustling city with cars battling their way down crowded roads, and human and animal pedestrians sharing the sidewalks on their way to work, markets, or school. Although the sights, smells, and sounds of Addis were a bit overwhelming at first, I quickly adjusted to the new scenes of every day life and became comfortable in my new home. I learned how to properly greet friends in Amharic, how to eat the Ethiopian bread (injera) with my hands, and how to navigate the public transportation system to get around town. All of these experiences helped to broaden my cultural understanding of Addis and provided me with more context for my public health work in Ethiopia. I spent five months working for Jhpiego Ethiopia, an international non-profit health organization affiliated with Johns Hopkins University. My first task at Jhpiego was to conduct site visits to eleven reproductive health centers across the country in order to collect program data and interview providers about two new HIV Counseling and Testing programs. These site visits took me to smaller cities in Ethiopia, where many of the resources available in high-income countries or even in Addis Ababa were not available. Although I had learned about the limited access to health services in Ethiopia, seeing it myself was influential in improving my understanding of the health challenges in Ethiopia and was a powerful motivator for me as I worked with Jhpiego to improve access to quality health services. After completing my project with the HIV Counseling and Testing team, I joined Jhpiego’s Maternal and Child Health team, where I assisted with projects under USAID’s flagship Maternal and Child Health Integrated Program (MCHIP). While working with these projects, I was again exposed to the issue of accessibility. I helped write a literature review that explored socio-cultural barriers to maternal health care throughout Ethiopia. Rather than looking at the physical barriers that could prevent a mother from accessing care, our report considered the cultural elements of reproductive health services that may make them inaccessible to Ethiopians with conflicting cultural beliefs. Viewing accessibility in this manner was a new experience for me, and I think the experience was enriched by my presence in Ethiopia and being able to observe the country’s cultural diversity firsthand. I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to live and work in Ethiopia. I was able to apply what I had learned at Johns Hopkins in a practical setting, which enabled me to solidify the skills and knowledge that I gained during my year school. Additionally, the friendships I formed, my newfound appreciation for the culture and diversity of the country, and my personal recognition of the health challenges that lie ahead have heightened my eagerness and excitement to continue my career in global health.  | Collecting data from client log-books during a site visit to a reproductive health center in Harar, Ethiopia. |  | Presenting on “Presentation Design and Data Dissemination,” during a Jhpiego staff retreat. |  | Jhpiego Ethiopia women at the annual staff retreat, dressed in traditional Ethiopian coffee dresses. |  | Jhpiego Ethiopia staff at the Great Ethiopian Run—a 10K race with over 36,000 participants. |  | Hiking in the Simien Mountains in northern Ethiopia. |
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