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Training Course in Sexual and Reproductive Health Research 2010 - List of participants - GFMER members pages

Abraham Alano Ali

Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia

Abraham Alano Ali

Abraham Alano Ali, BSc Nursing, MPH
Assistant Professor and Associate Vice President for Development, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia
alanoabraham@yahoo.com

I have joined the health services delivery systems of our country since 1990. When I joined the system, I was assigned in one of the remotest part of the country where there was no transport facilities such as bus and other vehicles. I was forced to walk at least one and half days on my foot from the nearest town to the health center where I was assigned. My intention is not to overestimate the challenges I faced during this time but to stress on the series discrepancies of health outcomes of the population in such remotest part of the country. By then the general health status of the country was among the worst in the world; to mention some more than 900/100000 MMR and more than 110/1000 IMR.

It gave me a golden opportunity to learn the challenges of health issues of the citizen of the country. Among the reasons for such problems were:

  • The general low level of the socio-economic development of the country
  • The longevity of civil war
  • Mal distribution of the available resources
  • Inadequate medical supplies and qualified health personnel
  • Poor international relation due to the prevailing socialist ideology and many others.

With all the above problems and with my limited professional capacity, I was assigned as a coordinator for MCH program for the health center to coordinate the maternal and child health program for one health center and thirteen health station distributed unevenly and out of communication. To provide an immunization program we must have walked on our foots for not less than 6-8 hours a day or used mules back. Two nurses and 8 health assistants were responsible for more than 500,000 populations of the three districts. Thus, it forced me to think differently, how I could cope with such an overwhelming and challenging situation with my limited professional capacity. I decided to join for further education to upgrade my professional career and serve by better capacity. I joined the baccalaureate degree program after giving five years service by my former status.

After completing B.SC. in nursing, I joined one of the colleges in higher education to train more middle level professionals that can contribute to the improvement of the health services delivery system. During that time, I also recognized the need to develop better capacity to teach and involve in research activities and joined Addis Ababa University master of public health program and obtained an MPH. After that I became a vice head for the college of health sciences, Debub University where I worked very hard to establish the teaching hospital for health sciences students and the surrounding communities. More over, I together with other colleagues strongly worked in opening new medicine program for undergraduate students.

With all the above efforts now we have got one teaching hospital with the College of health sciences and it is growing in the student intake. But I believe that it is a high time for me to upgrade my academic and research capacity to further cope in the dynamic health care industry and scientific world. The current global conditions and disease patterns all warn me to see the world in dynamism. More over, our university has developed a five years strategic plan, which clearly indicates the vision, mission and goals of it. Furthermore, the university is in its serious transformation in order to competently serve its customers. As a result redefined its core activities among which teaching, research and community services are prominent ones. These also motivate me to pursue my terminal degree in order to develop a further capacity in research there by harmonize teaching, research and community services. Besides, to meet the millennium development goals related to health and other development sectors also require quality services and research outputs that respond to the demand of the global population.

With these intentions and personal motives, I started to search for potential higher institution abroad which can serve my dream and found your organization as the best one to fulfill my dream a reality. I strongly believe that your organization (this training program) will equip me with the knowledge, attitude and skills required for integrating teaching, research and community services in our context after completing the training and pave ways to pursue my PhD education.

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