Ethiopia
Ethiopia
The Polish Center for International Aid Foundation has been involved in humanitarian and development aid in Ethiopia since 2012. In the beginning, it focused on projects related to education, e.g. providing lighting and access to water in schools to create better conditions for education.
Supporting children’s education, and developing emergency medical services – The Polish Centre for International Aid has been involved in aid in Ethiopia since 2012. Between 2012 and 2016, it provided lighting and water in schools and trained parents and teachers. It then focused on supporting the rescue system and fire brigade.
Ongiong projects
PCPM is continuing its development activities in Ethiopia, which began in 2015 and were expanded in a project funded by Polish aid program of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland in 2021-2023. The project will be implemented in partnership with the local branch of the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR). Support will also be provided by the Ethiopian Ministry of Health, the ALERT Training Center, the Fire and Disaster Management Commission in Addis Ababa, and local governments in two regions of southern Ethiopia.
The first pillar is the fire service, which is currently not prepared to deal with threats caused by human activities or natural disasters.
Therefore, PCPM wants to create a system that will remain in place long after the project is completed. PCPM’s Polish and Kenyan trainers will conduct instructor training for outstanding firefighters from Addis Ababa. In the following years, these instructors will use their acquired skills and experience to disseminate knowledge and build a systemic approach in the Sidama region and the Southern Ethiopia region.
In the Ethiopian capital, PCPM will equip the fire service training center, which currently trains emergency services from all over the country. Additionally, old equipment and personal protective equipment will be replaced, filling in gaps and taking advantage of technological developments.
The second pillar is Emergency Medicine, which plays an important role in Ethiopia’s rescue services system.
Over three years, Polish experts will train over 200 ambulance workers. The support will also include equipping ambulances, which, due to limited financial resources, do not even have basic equipment. The biggest shortages are oxygen equipment, compact ambulance stretchers and defibrillators. Standard first aid kits will also be provided.
As part of the last pillar, PCPM will organize training for veterinary services in response to requests from local governments.
Trained staff will receive equipment and medicines for vaccinating cattle. As a result, the local community in the Omo River Valley region will be able to rebuild their farms, which have suffered from recurrent natural disasters.
Previous activities
Equalizing educational opportunities for primary school pupils and young people was the main focus of the Foundation’s projects in 2012. Among other things, PCPM worked in drought-affected regions in southern Ethiopia. In addition, in the following years the foundation retrofitted schools and libraries and provided training for teachers and parents. In 2020, in response to the famine, PCPM also ran a feeding program for schoolchildren.
From 2016. The Foundation also started training for emergency services and firefighters.
In 2021, at the invitation of the Ethiopian Ministry of Health, the Polish Center for International Aid launched a project to support the building of the country’s emergency medical system, including the Ethiopian Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Team. This team brings medical assistance to victims of conflict, natural disasters, epidemics (including cholera and dengue), and refugees on the Sudanese border.
In 2023, the main aim of the projects was to improve pre-hospital care, improving the response to emergency events such as heart attacks and mass events such as road accidents involving more victims.
The PCPM Foundation trained public health system staff: doctors, nurses, and paramedics in pre-hospital care in the Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) standard.
In total, between 2012 and 2023, the Polish Center for International Aid Foundation implemented 9 projects with a total funding of PLN 11 044 089. The projects were mostly funded by the Polish Aid program of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland. The EMT mission was financed by the Chancellery of the Prime Minister.
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