On January 17th, NPR Radio's All Things Considered featured a story about the Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa.

Complications during delivery are a leading cause of death for women giving birth in developing countries. In remote areas, women sometimes languish in labor for days. Those who survive the ordeal often endure a lifetime of agony from severe internal injuries.

In Ethiopia, the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital offers a rare chance at treatment and respite for some women. One of the patients, Fantan Dere, is a young girl unsure of her age. She tells nurse Bethlehem Tesfaye that she may be 10, but the nurse thinks it's more likely Fantan is 12.

Fantan... more

The BBC News reports this on Tuesday morning:

The US has carried out at least two air strikes in southern Somalia against Islamist fighters, who the US believes include members of an al-Qaeda cell. The targets were reported to have been tracked by aerial reconnaissance and then attacked by a US gunship launched from a US military base in Djibouti. The US says Somali Islamists sheltered al-Qaeda operatives linked to the 1998 US embassy bombings in East Africa.

It goes on to say that the mission was reported to be successful and was backed by Somalia's new interim President... more

Here's your news from Ethiopia this week. As always, links are only good for a few weeks, unless you subscribe to the news service.

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Ethiopia: Lions Clubs Performs 1,432 Cataract Surgeries

The Ethiopian Herald (Addis Ababa)

The Lions Clubs of Ethiopia has successfully performed a total of 1,432 cataract surgeries in November here at Ras Desta Hospital and Quiha Hospital, Tigray State, all being Intra Ocular Lens (IOL), according to a press release Lions Clubs International sent to the Herald Monday. A crew of cataract surgeons, ophthalmologists... more

Here are this weeks' news stories for you. Please note that the links to the complete stories do expire after about a month, unless you happen to subscribe to that news service and have access to their archives.

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Ethiopia: UN Backs Mass Measles Immunization Amid Concern At New Cases

UN News Service (New York) December 27, 2006

A mass United Nations-backed measles immunization campaign is currently underway in Ethiopia, targeting more than 5.8 million children aged under the age of 5 following growing fears earlier this year... more

The BBC news reports that fighting has broken out in Somalia. Somalia shares a border with Ethiopia. The weak Somalia government is being attacked by Islamic extremists. The Somalia government is being supported by the Ethiopian military who do not wish the Islamists to move from Somalia into Ethiopia.

From the BBC News

Wednesday, 20 December 2006, 14:06 GMT Heavy fighting erupts in Somalia

Heavy fighting has broken out close to the base of the weak Somali interim government in Baidoa. A deadline from Islamists for Ethiopia to withdraw troops from Somalia or face "major attacks" expired on Tuesday.

... more

Here are this weeks' news stories for you. Please note that the links to the complete stories do expire after about a month, unless you happen to subscribe to that news service and have access to their archives.

Ethiopia: Airline Foundation Donates Books to Orphans

The Daily Monitor (Addis Ababa) December 18, 2006

The Emirate Airline Foundation, a non profit humanitarian organization, on Friday donated 4300 books to the Kidane Mehiret school library in Addis Ababa. The donation which includes eight PCs with email and internet access was... more

Ethiopia: Over 80 Percent of Urban Population Dwells in 'Slums', New Study Reveals

The Daily Monitor (Addis Ababa) December 8, 2006

A new research that assessed policies and practices of the right to housing in four urban areas, namely Addis Ababa, Adama, Bahir Dar and Awassa, found out that the majority of urban dwellers in Ethiopia, estimated at over 80 per cent, are living in "woeful conditions" in slums and squatter houses. http://allafrica.com/stories/200612081032.html

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Ethiopia:... more

Here's your news from Ethiopia this week!

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President Says Gov't HIV/Aids Intervention Bearing Fruit The Ethiopian Herald (Addis Ababa)

December 2, 2006

President Girma Wolde-Giorgis said that HIV/AIDS intervention activities carried out by the government through coordinating various sections of the society are bearing fruit.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200612040644.html

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Ethiopian Leases New Plane to... more

Watching Nightline last night, I saw the interview with rapper Jay-Z. He grew up in the 'hood' in Brooklyn, where he thought life was tough. Recently he took a trip to Angola, which changed his view. There he saw open sewage running down a road on the edge of an improvised basketball court, and helped a young girl haul water back to her family's home that "has to be the size of a jail cell," he says.

A visit to a rural village in South Africa was more uplifting. Jay-Z donated a "play pump" that spared... more

Here's your Ethiopian news for the week. And I'm wondering...anybody besides me bothered by the Spanish newspaper on a blog about Ethiopia? I'd love a picture of an Ethiopian newspaper instead. Please, someone, send one to me...

Ethiopia: Lions Miss Out On Country's Tourism Growth

Business in Africa (Johannesburg) November 22, 2006

Despite Africa recording the World's fastest tourist growth for the second year running according to the UNWTO, and Ethiopia showing good progress too, one of the East Africa country's zoos has had to poison rare... more