Earth Council partnership with International Medical Corps in Ethiopia

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Created: 25 December 2020

IMC UK’s mission in Ethiopia implements an emergency shelter, NFI and shelter repair kit provision project for conflict affected IDPs and returnees in Oromia region, East Hararghe Zone, Kumbi and Meyu Muluke Woreda.

One of IMC’s beneficiaries is Habsa Redewan Usmail, a 40-year-old mother living in Kumbi woreda with her six 6 girls and three boys. Habsa lost her husband, cattle, house, and all her property during the ethnic conflict between Oromos and Somalis six years ago.

She told us ‘[I was] unable to feed my children properly and send them to school...Gradually, I started cultivating my land and reconstructed my house. When the recent war broke out in our community, I lost everything for the second time. I even got shot on my leg.’

‘My children and I were forced to flee to Burka town - Gola Oda woreda 100 km away from Mino kebele,’ she continued. ‘Life is very difficult living as a displaced person, especially with a disability and without adequate water, shelter, food, health care or other basic needs. My children dropped their school and we had no hope at the time’.

When the security situation improved, Habsa and her children decided to return to their home town, Mino. Still, she recalled that they had ‘nothing left back home to re-establish’ their lives. They only had ‘plastic sheeting and some other house utensils that we received.’

Her family could not cultivate their land or construct shelter. They were living with the help of WFP food aid and were living in temporary shelters.

‘Then I heard about the assistance of shelter construction the first time when IMC Outworkers came to our village and told us they will help some returnees, with shelter construction materials’ she told us. ‘I initially was not sure whether I would be among those beneficiaries because of the large need in our kebele because so many residents were displaced.’

After a clear and impartial selection by IMC UK, and a verification process which involved elders, beneficiaries, kebele administration, and committees, she was selected as a beneficiary. She received supplies like corrugated iron sheet, nails, poles hinges and cash - all the things she needed to build her own shelter.

‘This is the first time in a year that I feel like a human being,’ says Habsa Redewan. ‘Using what I received and with IMC UK staff close supervision, I am now able to construct my own shelter.

‘Moreover, I am immensely happy because I have my land possession certificate through the help of IMC. Now I can close my door and feel safe.’

EARTH COUNCIL CONTINUES PROJECT WITH INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CORPS IN ETHIOPIA

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Created: 09 December 2020

Update on Gardens for Households in Gursum, Haromaya and Kersa Woredas, Ethiopia

Funded by Earth Council Geneva

Background

Since 2015, International Medical Corps’ Positive Deviance (PD)/Hearth program in nine villages of Gursum Woreda, Ethiopia has helped 1,579 underweight and malnourished children 6-59 months quickly gain weight by teaching their mothers and caregivers how best to prepare local foods for their families. In 2020, International Medical Corps brought PD/Hearth into two new woredas: Kersa and Haromaya. We integrate PD/Hearth with the government’s Growth Monitoring and Promotion program in local health centers and related approaches such as Community-based Management of Acute Malnutrition and Infant and Young Child Feeding programming. Together with existing community structures such as health committees, staff and volunteers promote and sustain the mother’s and caregiver’s ability to properly feed her children over time.

Sustainable Backyard Gardening

Thanks to the generous support of Earth Council Geneva, International Medical Corps initiated sustainable backyard gardening projects in Gursum Woreda in 2019 and expanded the program into communities in the Haromaya and Kersa Woredas in 2020. The program expansion targeted six kebeles - Sodu, Handurakosum and Belalangey kebeles in Kersa Woreda and Kerensadereba, Kuro and Biftugetda kebeles in Haromaya Woreda. In conjunction with the woreda agriculture offices, we determined the vegetable seed selection for the target households and facilitated capacity building trainings.

In Gursum Woreda we provided vegetable seeds to 1,579 households and distributed 685 watering cans. To date, 1,532 households (97%) have been harvesting vegetables and preparing them for their children at home and diversifying their diet according to what they learned during PD/Hearth sessions.

In Haromaya and Kersa Woredas, we distributed 720 watering cans and provided vegetable seeds to 796 households, exceeding our initial target of 720 households by also distributing seeds to the model mothers and other volunteers who supported the smooth implementation of the PD/Hearth program. See Table 1 below for details of the distribution.

Training Community Members

In all three woredas, International Medical Corps provided trainings to health development army members (HDAs) and community members on basic activities such as the selection of optimum sites, land preparation, mulching and the use of organic fertilizer (see Table 2). The trained HDAs and volunteers, along with development agents (DAs) and an expert from the agriculture office, demonstrated how to prepare land, how to sow seeds and how to protect them from the sun during the early stages of growth. They also conducted regular follow-up visits during the planting, growing and harvesting seasons to address needs and questions as they arose. These home visits make it possible for us to confirm that all beneficiaries who received seeds planted them.

COVID-19 Prevention Measures

To prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus during the trainings, our team provided liquid soap, hand sanitizer, and PPE to the training participants.  Staff conducted temperature screenings during entry and adhered to other prevention measures such as physical distancing and providing the training in an open area for proper ventilation when possible.

Two Stories from Buna Kebele, Gursum Woreda

Sumeya, 36 months old, lives with her mother Fariha and father Hassan. On July 29, 2018, she was admitted to the PD/Hearth program, weighing only 12kg. The hearth volunteer along with her mother started Sumeya’s rehabilitation and she graduated after three months at 15kg. She continued gaining weight for the next 12 months. In September 2019, Fariha received vegetable seeds and water cans provided by International Medical Corps thanks to the support of Earth Council Geneva, and sowed the seeds after preparing the land according to the best practices she had learned. In mid-December 2019, Fariha was able diversify her family meals, as she was trained by PD/Hearth, when she began harvesting her own tomatoes, cabbages and carrots. Her new menus now include: 1) A sauce of tomato, carrot and cabbage cooked with vegetable oil to accompany the Ethiopian bread known as injera; 2) tomato, carrot and chopped cabbage cooked with vegetable oil and eaten with rice; and 3) chopped tomatoes, crushed/chopped cabbage and carrot mixed with milk and corn or sorghum to make porridge.

Mawa, 48 months, lives with her mother Fayza and father Ibrahim. Mawa was admitted to the PD/Hearth program weighing only 13.1kg. She graduated three months later, weighing 14.2kg and continued to progress with the help of her mother. As Fayza recognized it to be a life enhancement, she joined the PD/Hearth program herself as a volunteer. One month after receiving and planting the seeds she received thanks to Earth Council Geneva, her husband Ibrahim endorsed integrating the cultivated vegetables into the family’s daily meal and suggested selling tomatoes and cabbages they didn’t need in the market. As a result, the couple earned an extra ETB 3,000 ($93), some of which they used to buy fruits, egg and milk. Mr. Ibrahim is a role model for fathers and husbands as he helped his wife take care of Mawa and cooked when she went to the market. Ibrahim told us that he will continue planting the vegetables to diversify the family’s meals and for the revenue.

Partnering with Earth Council Geneva

International Medical Corps appreciates Earth Council Geneva’s generous support of sustainable food security activities such as household gardens especially in this increasingly insecure region. With support from Earth Council Geneva, International Medical Corps initiated sustainable backyard gardening projects in Gursum Woreda and expanded the program into communities in the Haromaya and Kersa Woredas.  As this program progresses, families may decide to sell extra vegetables at the market, like Fayza and Ibrahim in the stories above – benefiting others as well as themselves – and we can instruct them on how to preserve vegetables for future consumption.

ECG Participation with IMC for COVID-19

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Created: 16 October 2020

"Dear Reto,

Thank you for the Earth Council Geneva’s very generous July 2020 donation to support our response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Your ongoing support helps International Medical Corps bring healthcare and hope to those who need it most during this challenging time.

As the number of cases continues to rise globally, International Medical Corps is focused on ensuring the continuity of our existing programming in nearly 30 countries while taking decisive action to respond to COVID-19 cases. We continue to distribute personal protective equipment (PPE) and infection prevention and control (IPC) items to healthcare facilities, while providing training and support to frontline healthcare workers on the proper use of such equipment and the epidemiology of COVID-19.

Our facilities continue to screen patients and raise awareness in local communities through traditional and remote activities. International Medical Corps is also participating with global, regional and local coordination bodies to support their COVID-19 response and ensure that our Staff can respond to the outbreak while continuing to deliver critical healthcare services.

I am deeply grateful for your continued generosity and commitment to our work. We will keep you updated on this crucial work and on how, together, we are saving lives and relieving suffering. Thank you.

All the best,

Nancy A. Aossey

IMC President & CEO"

EARTH COUNCIL GENEVA AND IMC TOGETHER FOR WATER IN ETHIOPIA

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Created: 08 October 2019

Thanks to Earth Council Geneva’s generosity, International Medical Corps has completed a water point project in Gey Talt village, which is located in Menz Gera Woreda of North Showa Zone, Amhara National Regional State, Ethiopia. This project included drilling a new borehole and developing a natural spring. Together, we have helped close the inequality gap as the global community moves towards the goal of 100% access to clean water.

I. The Borehole

Gey kebele presents fundamental challenges related to gaining access to water. Hydrogeological and geophysical surveying indicate that the water potential is very poor as massive basalt and rhyolite rocks lead to 80% run-off during rainfall rather than to replenishing ground water, which could otherwise be tapped using wells and boreholes. Of 10 wells drilled from 60-to-250m depth in Gey kebele, four of them had a small yield, only one had 4 liters/second, at Mariam Erti, and five of them had to be abandoned. Natural springs, like Asfaw Spring (described below), can be developed alongside but they tend to recede and disappear during the dry season.

Based on the results of a special hydrogeological survey conducted within a 1.5 km radius of Gey Talt village in August 2018, International Medical Corps drilled a 148-meter deep borehole in the hopes of finding 3 liters/second yield. Such a yield would make piping water into the village possible. Unfortunately, the pump test revealed that the well had the capacity of only 1 liter/second.

In discussion with the zonal and woreda water bureaus, we recommended installing a solar-operated submersible pump, an 800m pipeline, water distribution points and a 15m³ fibreglass water storage tank to make this water available to the community, albeit outside of the village limits. The community has asked for additional piping for closer access. In the meantime, the borehole has sufficient water to serve 2,000 men, women and children. In collaboration with the government, International Medical Corps organized and trained a seven-member WASH Committee (WASHCo) consisting three women and four men to sustainably manage the water system when it is fully operational.

II. The Natural Spring

To further improve Gey Talt village’s access to water, International Medical Corps developed a natural spring known as Asfaw Spring at Amba Tig village with a masonry storage tank, 30m pipelines and six faucets. The water system currently benefits 500 men, women and children. We handed the spring over to the community in May 2019 following testing and disinfection.

III. “Soft” WASH Activities

The borehole and natural spring work took place within a larger WASH project funded by other donors that addressed the continuing need for basic sanitation services and hygiene programming in Menz Gera and Kewet woredas.

Community-Led Total Sanitation

International Medical Corps supported the health bureaus’ Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) program. Designed with the recognition that simply building latrines does not ensure their use, nor their impact on the health of a community, the CLTS approach focuses on establishing open defecation-free (ODF) communities by using community mobilization as a catalyst for behavior change. The principal component of the CLTS program involves a community coming together to create a map of its communal sanitation profile through observations of OD practices, and then analyzing the impact the practices are having on the community at large. Intended to ignite a collective desire for action and change, called “triggering” in CLTS, this activity also facilitates a sense of ownership of community health and hygiene issues, and lays the foundations for future investment in sanitation infrastructure and services.

International Medical Corps led a three-day CLTS training in Kewet woreda with 120 community participants, and 71 villages in Menz Gera woreda and 54 villages in Kewet woreda launched CLTS initiatives. Four kebeles in Menz Gera and Kewet reached ODF status at the end of a year, and we reinforced the CLTS initiative in Gey kebele by constructing or rehabilitating a total of 1,845 household and community latrines. We also introduced sanitation marketing, like we did in Damot Pulasa and Boloso Sore woredas of Wolayita Zone with the support of Earth Council Geneva in 2017-2018.

Improved Hygiene Practices

For many rural communities, the lack of knowledge of proper hygiene practices is a major contributor to the spread of disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that simply washing one’s hands with soap and water could reduce the deaths associated with diarrheal disease worldwide by up to 50%. In Gey kebele, International Medical Corps raised awareness of proper hygiene practices and distributed informational leaflets to complement the reinforcement of CLTS and the introduction of sanitation marketing within the targeted communities. At Gey Maryam Primary School, for example, we facilitated education among 812 students (368 girls, 444 boys) on personal hygiene, handwashing at critical times, solid waste management at school and at home, and safe water handling from the source to the household. To reinforce these messages, we also distributed 250 posters and 500 leaflets with information on safe hygiene practices at the school as well as at public gathering places and health posts.