Desert locust besieging Addis Ababa, “roof of Africa”

BY WORKU BELACHEW 

In my life, I did not see natural disaster in Addis Ababa until yesterday. Yesterday, however, a swarm of locust besieged the capital, though it caused no harm. Residents were unaware of that incident in advance. And the thing was too unusual. The locust were moving from Eastern Addis to North Western part. Fear reigned for hours. Mothers who send their kids to school were screaming and running to schools. One mother who  received a phone call informing her that “Desert Locust surrounded the neighborhoods” from a relative  mistakenly heard that Desert lion surrounded .... The mistake was this. Desert locust in Amharic is called Yebereha Ambeta, and she confused it with Yebereha Anbessa ( desert lion) for they are slightly related in phenom. And she spread this wrong information which raised escalated shock to  nearby residents. 

East African Desert Locust Prevention and Control Office headquartered in Addis Ababa in a place called Gurd Shola, North Addis. It is almost in same place that Ministry of Agriculture situated. None, nevertheless, forecast this to happen when it even made its way to Addis from Somali Land. Later on, Ethiopian Television attributing an expert from Ministry of Agriculture reported that the locust brings no harm since it is not crop season.

But, failure both to prevent, control and to inform residents as well as farmers about the disastrous locust is stirring questions among various people.

Genre: Editorial 

Published in The Ethiopian Herald on 10 May 2014

Peace, stability for the youngest African nation: A call of the day! 

The youngest nation in Africa has failed to maintain peace and stability even for two  years after getting its independence. South Sudan, which saw the longest war in the history of Africa, is still engrossed int a huge humanitarian crisis resulting from intolerance within the party itself that devoted to liberate the nation back in the days.

It is almost a year since South Sudanese peace and stability razed and fears and persecutions of human right enthroned in the entire nation. According to report of Oxfam for instance, Over 800,000 people have fled their homes, more than 76,000 people have sought refuge at various UN compounds across the country and 254,600 people have fled to neighboring countries while myriads of people lost their lives. The backdrop has even turned into worse as the war between the two factions evolved towards taking ethnic shape. Many pronounced the killing of South Sudanese that were under the security blanket of United Nations in Bor and  Benitu a genocide. This indiscriminate killing of innocent people looks like to leaving its protracted scars on the future of South Sudan. 

All these suffering principally source from less cultivation of  culture of dialogue to defuse differences and bring situations back to normal for the common good of  the nation. And even differences are natural, could occur at any place and time. It could not have derailed their determination to  prosper their nation. But, now the cracks are widening and widening. Due to that, the youngest nation's fertile lands are ravaging with bullets. Thus, its hardworking people have nothing other than bending their knees for humanitarian aids. But, are these things concealed from the understanding of the leaders? And why do they repeatedly fail to see their people's suffering?

From the outset of this conflict, the international community in various multilateral fora has done enough to bring the warring factions to terms. Ethiopia also through IGAD played a role with a view to stabilize its newest neighbour. The rival factions also signed agreement for the cessation of hostilities and to neutralize the issues that enervate the inter-party peace in a political dialogue. Albeit, the agreements did not get materialized.

The East African region which has seen catastrophic suffering of all kinds, to name just few, famine, civil and cross-border wars, terrorism, and even state failure,  is now revitalizing itself into a stabilized region. But the misfortune leaps from South Sudan, unless the two warring parties reconsider their stand and come to cooperation, for sure this nation would be a weak link of the region at least for two reasons. Firstly, the humanitarian crisis, aside from putting millions of its people into grave chaos, the situation would end up being another burden to the international community even more than it is now. The resulting state failure would also be a launching pad for  the opportunistic and infamous terrorist organization's destructive agendas. Thus, the problem, despite occurring in an African nation, would obviously infect many other countries, secondly. That is why, leaders of the parties in war need to sit and negotiate first for the good of their own people from which they hail and second for the good of the region and beyond.

Now IGAD is so devoted with the continued efforts from the international community and Ethiopia, opportunities are being created for the leaders to discuss and negotiate face-to-face [after this article get published the two parties made agreement on key issues] under same roof. This is  good news for the people of  South Sudanese and to all peace loving people across the world. But, it would be  complete when coupled with concrete results of ending the war. No doubt, trying to fetch solution from a barrel of a gun is not the dictate of the modern world. However, putting a win-win solution in a round table  for the resolve of the people they want to see prosper would be best. And they need to admit that  millions must not die, starve, destabilize and raped because of them.

What makes this negotiation too critical is also that as Mark Simmonds—Minister for Africa at Foreign and Commonwealth office— in his article titled, A tale of two visits published in The Ethiopian Herald on Thursday May 9, 2014 puts it: “If people are unable to plant crops over the next couple of months, we could be looking at a famine of grotesque proportions.”  Right! The leaders of both sides have historic responsibility not to leave their people into another desperation resulting from missing to use the coming crop season. Everything in that country needs to come to normal. For that to be real, the leaders genuine dialogue play unrivaled roles. May their discussion bear fruits!

 

Ethiopian style of  feasting Easter

BY WORKU BELACHEW

Fasika, Ethiopian Easter, falls after a long fasting season for most Ethiopian Orthodox Christians. The holiday is also celebrated by almost all followers of Christianity. The former get cutoff from luxury foods such as poultry products, meat, butter, cheese or in short all  animal products for almost two months.  During the fasting season, traditional dishes grace dining tables. Few of the mouth watering and famous foods are these:  Suf-fetfet, a   sunflower butter mixed with salted water, chopped green paper, and pieces of  Injera;   Siljo, mustered seed and beans powder mixed with garlic and warm water to prepare a hot testing food; Sheembra Assa, a spiced chickpea dough fried  in different shapes such as star, circle, bird... and cooked with a delicious sauce. People often enjoy fasting foods during fast season. When these foods served in a tray, the look and smell  whet one's appetite, not to mention the unique test of the dishes when taken. In most restaurants of  Addis, for instance, fasting food buffet is common during such season.

Most amazingly, after the fasting season is over, such foodstuff are uncommon on every body's dish as if they are prescribed only for fasting season.

The eve of Fasika hosts two remarkable events, the hustle and bustle of holiday market and the prayers/service at churches. During the eve of a holiday, market places host the busiest crowed. Usually heads of  families visit nearby markets to buy stuffs ranging from  bull, goats, sheep, chicken to eggs vegetables,  spices, fresh grass and so on. It is common to hear the bleats of goats and sheep,  the bellows of oxen, and the crow of  chicken in the market place, particularly during the eve. The night of eve on the other hand is a time to be in churches for the faithful. Most Christians worship their God according to their doctrines. After the conclusion of  prayers/service at Churches,  Orthodox Christians for instance,  walk to their homes, holding  candle lamps on their way. They break their fast at about 3:00am dinning foods such as  delicious Doro wot, chicken sauce, cheese and the likes.

At daybreak, individuals slay goat or sheep to enjoy the day with mutton while in groups people slay bulls in a ceremony called Kircha.  People living the same neighborhood, contribute money for kircha and buy bulls to divide the meat  and share  among themselves. This is very ceremonious event even more symbolic  than merely taking the shares home. The elders slay the bull, divide and share the meat. They never use scales  when they share, they simply weigh the meat on their two hands. After sharing the meat, no one rushes to  home. A small ceremony goes before the kircha gets concluded, that is dining liver in raw.  No lab test goes to the liver before it is served, just the elders check whether it is healthy or not with eyes and hands.  If healthy, they chop it into pieces and serve it with Mitmitta, a hot paper powder,  and this ceremony is accompanied by a local alcoholic drink Areke. Females also prepare a delicious fried meat. Finally the ceremony gets over at about eleven in the morning.

People dividing and sharing meat

Most households brew Tella, Tej or Areke, local alcoholic drinks, and bake a special bread to coluor the holiday. And the head of a family, during a breathtaking coffee ceremony where fresh grass covers the coffee table and a rooms floor, and smoke from an incense burner fills the room,  makes a short prayer and his/her good wishes, then  cuts the bread into loves.

Ethiopian coffee ceremony

Generally, holidays are a unique moment for a family reunion. A family in Ethiopian context does not include parents and children only. Let me quote late Madiba for this purpose. In his autobiography, he wrote that, we African do not have half brothers and half sisters, we have only brothers and sisters. To put his own golden words:  “In African culture, the sons and daughters of one's aunts or uncles are considered brothers and sisters, not cousins. We do not make the same distinctions among relations practiced by Europeans. We have no half brothers or half sisters. My mother's sister is my mother; my uncle's son is my brother; my brother's child is my son, my daughter.”

This utterly works in Ethiopia. Individualism is not our fashion rather collectivism is the culture. Thus, members of a family gets together during this day and the feast.

It is also common to invite people in the neighborhood to one's home for a lunch or dinner. In most Ethiopian tradition  dinning from the same tray is widely practiced, it shows Ethiopian tradition of collectivism, sign of  love, respect and so on.  When you eat together, you need to make yourself ready to eat from the fingers/hands of others, this is in Amharic called Gursha. Just feel free to feed others with your fingers too. It is a symbol of love, respect. It is also a symbol not to betray others. To put it another way,  the same hand that feeds friends never brings harm to them.

In Ethiopian culture, you do not only get served with foods and drinks but compassionate reception also accompanies an invitation. When you eat and drink, the host  repeatedly and kindly beg you to eat more, saying kind words such as “please eat”, “you are not eating well, what happens, is not it delicious?”... and puts sauce, Injera... or whatever now and then on the tray. When your glass is empty, you don't have to worry, the host soon notices that and fill it to its brim. Unless you tell the host as you have taken  too enough, the food and drink stay on the table.

During Fasika and of course in most holidays, foodstuff prepared form meat dominate a dinning table. Kurt— raw meat with spicy sauce such as, Awaze, Qochquocha, Data, Mitmita— Kitfo,  menaced meat mixed with butter and spices eaten in raw, boiled meat, fried meat and highly spiced meat sauce are common.

Words could not demonstrate everything, multi ethnic Ethiopia with diverse culture embraces, it is home for  an ocean of traditional foods, drinks still unheard and unseen in other corner of the world.   One can enjoy the warm reception of Ethiopians and most of these just visiting the land, now also icon for its peace and stability.

Genre: Editorial 

Published on 15th April on The Ethiopian Herald

 

Cure malpractice reigning in Addis' Hospitals

 BY WORKU BELACHEW

Despite improvements in public health care access in Addis Ababa, reports suggest that quality service provision is at stake. This is not because of scarcity of professionals or drugs and medical equipment as one tries to easily infer. It is rent seeking practice that is diluting quality in hospitals of the city.

Factors that account in tarnishing the service are materializing in various forms. In an occasion held in Adama, a rift valley town growing by leaps and bonds, Health State Minister Dr. Amir Aman was bold enough when unveiling malpractices, still in safe heavens at hospitals in Addis, seen in hospitals to over three hundred participants drawn from six hospitals of the city as well as from Black Lion hospital.

Drug theft and Medical equipment vandalism for instance are not uncommon in many hospitals. To the surprise of humble reader, some drugs supplied to hospitals get diverted to private pharmacies, at the worst the drugs cross Ethiopian border to oversees.

The state minister also questioned the short-breathe various equipment in government hospitals enjoy with example: The ministry procured CT-Scan machine for Black lion hospital—the largest referral in Ethiopia—from same company another private hospitals procured, but it sustained damages after short service, but why? His question is critical and many people also share that. Vandalism on medical equipment is said to have been committed to reap personal gains either in the form of tips from private health institutions or at times to divert patients to one's own clinic.

Another sad story could be, in rural areas, patients were said to have complained charges they had been asked for public Ambulance service and for treatments that the government avail for free such as Malaria and TB.

Every profession has its own ethical guidelines. But, when it comes to health care, the magnitude increases to the level of taking oath to honestly practice tasks to one's best ability and judgment. This is not to deny the existence of health professionals who dispose duties in line with that. Yet, an infectious disease, rent seeking mentality which is attacking other sectors, is not also unsafe in the health sector. Few are misusing their profession extending their murderous networks in public hospitals to accumulate wealth at the cost of patients. Their brute hands are throwing these patients to desperation more than the illness does. Illness is bad, but there are people to cure the bad. However, some of these people themselves need a cure.

Available documents show that curative efforts are being underway such as putting in place a system of Auditable Pharmacy Transactions and Services (APTS) which included, among others, revision of receiving and issuing vouchers at pharmacy stores in health facilities to make them appropriate for pharmaceuticals. As it is clear to anyone, rent seeking practices also get modified to fit a given environment. That is why checking and rechecking systems to close cracks, which if not find out on time change into a big hole, remains too crucial.

This time, the cracks and holes are well identified and even documented. This might be few steps towards the solution, but a concerted effort of everyone brings the genuine cure. For instance, setting a beam of light on the laws, directives, guidelines, programmes, plans or whatever... available in the health sector could be one.

Such important instruments are usually unknown by ordinary persons. Lack of awareness limits public involvement. Sometimes, people may not identify between their rights and duties and between the legal and illegal. Thus, government bodies and other affiliates should come together and plan to raise the awareness of the public. Traditional gatherings including, Edir, Iquib, rituals... and market day could be employed to convey messages. In places where one to five bondage is well understood and in effect the issue of health and fighting malpractice seen in the sector need to be prioritized, as healthy citizen is a requisite to reinforce the ongoing development.

In many hospitals, suggestion boxes, and books are at every nook and cranny. But, customers suggestions and complaints seems to have been overlooked. As far as the purpose is to bring quality service, a periodic audit of these suggestions or complaints is necessary. The problem with this channel is, however, it does not center the illiterate section of our society. Thus, hospital management entities need to have hot lines. It is also a call for other development partners to participate in activities that brings quality in health service provision crafting various proactive and reactive techniques.

Though punishment serves least in bringing genuine solution, as there is an appreciable gap in the demand and supply of health professionals, anyone who breaches the ethical and legal principles needs to enjoy the consequences, otherwise others cannot refrain their hands.

Addis Ababa is a hub of senior health professionals with fairly equipped public hospitals. But, in most cases it seems the hospitals in regional states, relatively with more demand for equipment and practitioners, are by far exceeding in terms of quality. And this scenario should be improved to make the hospitals of the city play an iconic role as it is expected of them.

Quotation of the day

"The very first requirement in a hospital is that it should do the sick no harm.”

Florence Nightingale was a celebrated English social reformer and statistician, and the founder of modern nursing.

Act of one greedy could despair many

BY WORKU BELACHEW 

Genre: Editorial 

Published on 4th April on The Ethiopian Herald

Unfair and greedy trade practice is a huge burden to consumers. However, sooner or later, business that relays solely on making money, ignoring all social responsibilities, gets itself in a deadlock. To understand this, one could not be expected to refer studies decorated with bars and charts. A simple observation of most businesses that entertain a short lifespan, due to lack of scientific trade system, would be enough. As anyone could agree, such business owners' ultimate aim is not securing genuine profits, rather revealing their inhumane character. Business entities and individuals of such type do anything abusive so far as it quenches their desire for accumulating money. Their venomous practice creates too much burden to the community challenging its very survival. We have only few, very few, in the business community who lives by the sweat of their own brow meeting customers' satisfaction.

 

The price hike which is escalating almost on a daily basis, challenges the survival of consumers. Take the price of Teff, a staple food of majority of Ethiopians. Plainly speaking, the net salary of a fresh degree graduate is far less than a price of a quintal of Teff. How can one endure the cost of a locally and largely produced cereal which is almost equal to the sum total of two fresh degree graduates monthly salary? This is nonsense by anyone's standards. Likewise, the cost of most food commodities has already become beyond one's imagination.

 

When we see the price of imported basic consumer goods, the scenario becomes even worse. Take clothing for instance, a civil servant cannot buy quality clothes with his/her own salary which may range between 800 to 5,000 where the majority falls in between. Due to this, most people have to save money for long time to respond the question of clothing. This is so terrifying.

 

There is a cruel virus which is infecting most in the business community and spreading fast: “short cut”. Individuals infected by a “short cut” virus always dream to surcharge consumers by every means possible. Their egocentric attitude tell them that Rome was built over night. But, it is unsafe to conclude as they always fail to materialize their dream. In short time, most of them own skyscrapers, luxurious automobiles and the likes. However, the reality on the ground proves that their greed is driving the majority to desperation.

 

One dare say that profit margins these days have been kept below ground. Is it hyperbolic to say 'no one except God knows the profit margins'? Some would go as far as securing a 700 per cent markup per commodity. In countries where ethical trade system functions well, traders would not get over 10 per cent net profit. But, the maximum markup is said 20 per cent, and when one gets the maximum per percentage, they call such individuals or companies “butchers”. No word can, therefore, express traders in this country that make over 700 per cent net profit!

 

Several reasons complicate our trade system and account for its unhealthiness. Low awareness about healthy trading could be one. Most whole sellers or retailers have engaged in a kind of business just to collect money as much as they can. They do not have a clear understanding to what extent their practice impacts the community. Due to that, some just rush to attain their brute aspiration. But, with no doubt, their business is a short lived one. Increasing demand also plays a major role. No confusion, if consumer “A” ignores a commodity, consumer “B” will soon come and take it. Accordingly, the traders have also fossilized a mentality as their goods would not be wasted. A third reason for the rising hike can be our investors choice. It is clear that most would like to build skyscrapers and collect rent with no extra fuss or engage in importing luxury goods and distributing them here to get a quick return, for instance. That is, in fact, their right. But, for the good of the society, if they engage in other sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture ... the advantage is double and triple. That could be in stabilizing the market by satisfying increasing demand for basic consumer goods, in curbing unemployment and the likes.

 

In a nutshell, the issue under discussion demands lots of efforts from every stakeholders before the hiking goes to an unmanageable stage. It could be: better enforcing the trade practice and consumers' protection law, educating the business community about its responsibilities, taking strict measures on individuals that deliberately limit production or hoard commodities and so on. In line with this, we have a holiday that most Christians celebrate in the coming weeks. And there would be plots to rocket cost of commodities such as onion. Thus, relevant bodies need to prevent such mess in advance.