vOA-MCHC reaching the less priveledged

Meron Shimeles, 15, has counted six months since she joined Vision On Africa- Mother and Child Help Center (VoA/MCHC), a non profit organization with a mission to provide technical assistance and build capacity through knowledge transfer to grassroots civil society and non-governmental organizations in Ethiopia as well as in other African countries.
Meron lives with her mother in a house that they rent 100 birr. They used to pay 40 birr just a year ago. She praises God that they did not fall down the slippery poverty threshold to destitution.
“My mother is engaged in varius daily activities such as, manual labor, doing washing, and baking. She struggles to full fill our family’s basic needs.” Meron said.
Since a few months, Meron has also managed to be a breadwinner in her family. Based on the experience and skills she accumulated from VoA-in Arts and Crafts Training, she has started producing for sale stuffed animals, handbags, wallets and boxes for.
“Thanks to VoA-MCHC, I am now able to produce these items on my own and generate income. In addition to the 34 birr monthly salary the Help Center grants, they also offer us much needed behavioral skills, make up training and all about being all presentable”
The training is given to the students in a way that will not clash with their regular school schedules. They are trained twice a week for four hours. So far, over 150 have been trained in Arts and Crafts for a period of seven months. Soon another 100 are to graduate on Tuesday June 2007 with, the preparations for the celebration well underway.
The center is not limited to giving training only to young children as part of its Sustainable Development Project in the Arts and Crafts Initiative, but also to the an important and describing element of the society –namely mothers.
Berhan Demoz, is a mother of two and one amongst trainee mothers. Before joining the center, she had been working in strenuous manual labor earning a pittance from daily wages.
“Up to Some four months ago, I had no knowledge of such crafts .The training has helped me to learn the basics of crafts and art.” She said appreciating the services she retained from the center.
Nevertheless, Demoz still had something important that she earnestly wants the them to do . This is her assertion that it is very essential to be organized into associations upon graduation from the center.
“Finding a job is very difficult these days so I would hope that if we are supported to form teams, then it would be very simple to bring our products to the market”
Replying to this, founder and President of the Center, Senedu Araya-Sellassie, said that it was their constant job to find them works and create ways that they could work recruited. Among the previous graduates there are some who are capable of getting top paying jobs and the rest can be the center itself .
“Currently, Wassi Design has siezed the initiative and has taken five students as interns. We hope that in the future other organizations would follow this commendable example.” Senedu said.
Senedu, has had the dream of helping others since she was 11 years when she adopted a child famine victim. She is a Computer Science graduate and has been in the profession for the last 24 years.
Spurred by her burning desire to help the needy and most vulnerable children, Senedu started her non profit organization three years ago in the United States.
VoA-MCHC tries to reduce the transmission of HIV/AIDS from mother –to-child by improving the capacity of community based health services offered .It also provides VCT, antenatal/postnatal care and integrated management of childhood illnesses.
The mission objectives of VoA-MCHC target health, poverty reduction and governance. It has reached its initial goal by establishing the Mother and Children Help Center in Addis Ababa, Yeka Sub-City Kebele 18.
With its “Make a Difference” motto, VoA-MCHC will keep up dedication and ongoing commitment. It has selected 30 orphans from Zewaye monastery through a dollar a day program that would be directly channeled to the children.
According to conservative estimates, the number of children orphaned by AIDS will reach 25 million worldwide by 2010. However, this estimate only tells part of the story. Mmany children are vulnerable to different educational and self-support related problems.
Many orphans and other vulnerable children are themselves variously living with AIDS, caring for siblings and chronically ill family members in financially stretched households that have absorbed other children due to poverty and related predicaments. Some orphans engage in high-risk behaviors to support themselves and their families. According to studies in multiple countries, children are more likely than others, followed by mothers, to suffer from poor nutrition, lack of access to basic health care, miss school, and face psychological and emotional difficulties. Children orphaned by AIDS face the added burden of stigma and discrimination surrounding the disease.
In addition to this, the organization in its projects provides material and moral support to 262 orphaned students of Fitawrari Lake Adgeh Primary School and in its capacity building programs, enhances individual capacity and fosters self-sustainability both internationally and domestically.
“In three years 6800 children have been vaccinated for measles 9000 mothers were half treated and have signed a tripartite agreement to assist and give service to 40,000 households.” Senedu added.
It was her message that we first have to change ourselves so that together, we can see success in the offing.
Like Senedu, who has sold her residence and quit the high income life she used to enjoy in the US for the sake of the pitiable is something to applaud and support.

Democracy and press freedom

Democracy and the Social Question”: The seventh lecture in this academic year was given by Amare Aregawi, editor-in-chief of “The Reporter”. The lecture took place on Tuesday, 12 June, at Ras Mekonnen Hall of Addis Ababa University.
In his presentation which is published here in its entirity Amare Aregawi expresses his concerns about press freedom in Ethiopia. In his view it is going “from bad to worse”.
The lectures, organized by Addis Ababa University, FES and Goethe-Institute, with speakers from both the local and international community in Addis Ababa, provide a podium for an open dialogue on democracy issues. Capital is the media partner of this series.

Amare Aregawi, 52, joined the armed struggle of EPRDF in 1978 after one year of imprisonment during the red terror. He worked in the political department and the underground radio station as the programs department head. He was director of the Ethiopian Television and the Ethiopian News Agency from 1991 to 1995. In 1995 he set up a private company Media and Communications Centre and founded „The Reporter”, one of the most renowned magazines of Ethiopia, were he is the editor-in-chief today. He is also the founder and former Chair of the Ethiopian branch of Transparency International, an NGO fighting against corruption. Recently he founded the „Horn of Africa Press Institute (HAPI) “, a research and training centre that has the vision to enable free press in the Horn. He is married and has three children.

Last week I was in Cape Town. 1900 journalists, editors and reporters gathered to talk about press freedom in the world. When we talk about press freedom, we are talking about freedom. I want to emphasis this point publicly, to ourselves and to the government, because there is a misunderstanding of the very concept of press freedom. To me freedom of the press in Ethiopia is in danger from within itself and from without. We were discussing the situation of freedom of the press in North Africa. It is amazing how much press freedom is in danger there, on one side from the government, on the other from the armed people who wouldn’t let any journalist tell the truth in a fundamental way. We were discussing the situation in Latin America. Press freedom was and is in danger from the government, the drug lords. Back in Ethiopia, I will try to focus the danger here.
Let me be generous first: We journalists ourselves are not good with respect to freedom of the press. Before I criticize the government, let me criticize the press itself, including myself.

Problems from within the press itself.
1. There is lack of understanding of the essence of freedom of the press in the private press itself, in the government press itself. The government press thinks it is free, and the private is the opposition. The private press thinks it is free while the government press is opportunist. Thirdly in Ethiopia we think what makes us unique is the Red fox, the Rock churches or the Nyala. We are also unique regarding the press. Only in Ethiopia a newspaper says: Don’t read that one, don’t watch that program. Freedom of the press means: watching, reading whatever you like. In Ethiopia even the journals and the newspapers themselves want to read any accept the is own opinion not others or want the public to accept no opinion except theirs. Our basic problem is that we don’t understand the concept of freedom of the press.
2. Lack of professionalism: We don’t have professionalism; we didn’t go to schools of journalism. In the history of Ethiopia, for the last 30 years, we were cut off from the West, we didn’t study journalism. In course, we came from Russia with diplomas of journalism. But the transcription says we have been to Russia for many years: two years learning Russian; three years studying Marxism-Leninism; two years visiting Uzbekistan. We don‘t find journalism. We have a journalism department in Addis Ababa University which came very late. Sorry to say that: I really doubt, if there are real journalists. So we lack professionalism.
The other thing is the low institutional capacity. No skilled human resource, no finance, no newspaper with their own publishing press. The payment for journalists is very low. Thus there is no institutional capacity to fight for freedom of the press. As long as there is a lack of Ethics and rule of conduct it is the real problem to understand and fight for the essence of freedom of the press.
3. There is absence of a self regulatory body. We don‘t have a press council. In other countries the press controls itself. In Ethiopia we don’t have that. Therefore it is exposed to the police or to the court to regulate the press.
Without a common plat form, association, code of conduct we cannot be real fighters of freedom of press.
Thus problem number one in Ethiopian press freedom is we ourselves: journalists are not a good actor of freedom of the press. We have a problem within.

Problems from without
What about without? For the time being, I‘m going to focus on the government only because we don’t have a good opposition who believes in freedom of the press neither. It is the same problem: If you criticize them they are angry; you are free when you criticize the government, and you are its sub-author if you criticize the opposition. The same sickness and the same bias. Anyway I won’t talk about the opposition now – I only focus on the government.
To see the situation of government activities vis-a-vis freedom of the press, let us see what our government has signed. The government has accepted article 19 of the declaration of human rights, a beautiful law. And they have adapted article 19 in article 29 of the Ethiopian constitution. No question, this is wonderful. The African charter on Human and People‘s rights – signed. The declaration on principles of freedom of expression – we have signed it. The Windhoek declaration on African broad casting – we have signed it. New partnership for African Development – we have signed it. We have signed all this - but the reality is quite different.
Ethiopia is far from being exemplary, even by African standards. We have signed all these beautiful laws. We have got a very good constitution in Article 29 but in practice we don’t, Let me read articles 19 and 29.
Article 19: Everyone has a right for freedom of opinion and expression.
This right includes freedom to hold opinion without interference to seek, receive and impart ideas, information through any media regardless of any frontiers.
Let me highlight four points:
1.To hold opinion without interference
1. To seek it
2. To receive it
3. To impart information
through any media regardless of any frontier, very good !!
Then let us come to article 29 of our constitution:
Everyone has the right to hold opinion without any interference. Everyone has a right to freedom of speech and expression without any interference. These rights include freedom of information to seek, receive, impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art or through any media of his choice. Freedom of the press and other mass medias and freedom of artistic creativity is guaranteed. Freedom of the press shall specifically include the following elements.
A. Prohibition of any form of censorship, B. Access to information of public interest.
4. In the interest of free flow information and ideas and opinions which are essential for the function of a democratic order the press shall, as an institution, enjoy legal protection to ensure it’s operational independence and it’s capacity to entertain diverse opinions.”
You cannot have any better constitution than this: any media, in the form of oral or written, guaranteed no censorship.
3. The third thing of the freedom of the press in Ethiopia is, having such a wonderful article in our constitution, when we come to practice, there are frontiers, limitations, restrictions.
Government-centered problems
Let me raise some of the government centered problems:
a. Inconsistent and restrictive legislation environment: Media laws that are inconstant with the constitutional law. We will come to this later.
Last Thursday, the draft for broad casting became a law. If you suit it, put the constitutional article 29 here and see the broad casting law there. Here it says: “to be given to any Ethiopian”. There it says: “it is going to be auctioned”. Here it says: “without any restriction”. Here it puts eight restrictions. So, the first question that comes to us is: Why don’t thus respect our constitution? Why do our practices of laws and rules go against the very constitution? That is the problem: The guidelines and regulations of the executive nullifying the legislative. Another danger for press freedom: The highest body of our constitution, all over the world, is the parliament. Eight years ago, the parliament came up with a broadcasting law saying that any Ethiopian can have a private radio and television station. Then the minister of information intervenes, acting against the legislative in the parliament. Yes, he says, the law says you can have radio and television but I am not going to give you television: The executive against the legislative. The next what he says is: I give you only radio but not short wave, only FM. Then, when it says FM, it is going to give only two. So, where is the decision of the parliament? A legislation nullifies the rules of the parliament. Why the actual implementation is not in conformity with the Ethiopian constitution? These are dangers for the Ethiopian press freedom: You are at the disposal of individuals.
Cumbersome and restrictive provisions in the draft press and the broadcasting laws: The eligibility is amazing. The registration is hectic. The licensing is repressing, content restriction is amazing, and there is no flow of information. Suspension and banning – we have seen it at large this year. Access to information: first government media, second party media, third private media. We are not treated equally. Heavy penalties, amazingly heavy penalties.
The other point is: the non-independent, non-neutral government controls the regulation body. One of the tragedies of press freedom is: if you are going to have real press freedom in our country, the first wisdom is the body that regulates the press should be independent, accountable to the parliament. In Ethiopia, the accountability is for the minister of information. The minister of information basically is a spokes person. That means he wants the world hear what it wants to be. This spokesperson is controlling the private press, and we are accountable to him. This body will want me to agree with the thinking of the spokes person. That is why you don’t make the spokesperson at the same time a regulatory body. First it has to be independent and accountable to the parliament. Second it is not only that the spokesperson should be independent and non-governmental but the people who are appointed to this regulatory body should be neutral and non-partial – we don’t have it in Ethiopia.
The other problem is: Our government does not really recognize the role of the private press. It is really sad, when a prime minister is a prime minister for 16 years and he starts calling the private press for a press conference in his 15th year. Why? Because they are thinking that the private press bothers, is damaging. With such an attitude people will not know freedom of the press. In order to get freedom of the press, the private press should have a recognition. The private press has got a role, in the economy, in democracy, in peace and development. That our government lacks.
The other problem is not only with the private press but also with the government press. There is a difference between government media and public media. Public media are very important. They could be government budgeted. But they should have editorial independence. Let us see the BBC. Who‘s money is it? It is government money. But by law it has editorial independence. Whether it is the labor party or the conservative party, they don’t care. Ethiopia deserves a public media. Unfortunately we don’t have it, ours is a government‘s media.
Heavy-handed court measures: It is amazing how much one article of a defamation law, a legal law in Ethiopia, is damaging the press freedom situation in Ethiopia. Whatever you write somebody comes and says it is a defamation, and he takes you to court. This is not fair.
I have got seven cases in court. I have to go there because only the editor-in-chief can go. All of them are in one bench, bench number 10. One time I had five cases at one time. We wrote about telecommunication, and it was called defamation. You write about anything, and it is considered to be a defamation. In other countries the defamation law has become not a criminal but a civil law. Ghana has abolished it, defamation law has became a civil law. If you feel, you are defamed you decide to go to defend you by yourself. But in Ethiopia the defamation becomes the most damaging article, it‘s a criminal law. You write about any institution and the minister of information comes and say it is a defamation. So how are you going to fight corruption? Such heavy-handed court measures are inhibiting the free press.
The problem in Ethiopian press freedom laws is not only the rules that we find in the press law. There are some other laws which are damaging the press freedom. Let’s take the anti-corruption law as an example. There is a law that says if a whistle blower brings information to the anti-corruption lawyer, he is free. If he gives it to the media, he could be charged. That means: don’t give information to the media. That is one problem.
Let take the investment law. There is one incentive article in it. It says: any investor who does invest in industry or agriculture is going to get a tax free incentive. The sad thing is the exceptions. And the first exception is media. Nobody gives us incentives, nobody sees us as an investment.
There is the drafted law becoming election law. One of the article says: Media can not teach about the election democracy without the permission of the Election board. The very purpose of the press is to educate, inform and entertain. If I am going to ask permission to educate about it, what should I suffix from the beginning?
You might remember: three years ago, a draft press law came up. There was a tough fight against it. They couldn’t make it a law. One morning we saw it on the paper. The first four notorious articles in the draft form had become a law in the penal form. So, if you want to see the laws on press and broadcasting media, you have to read and know not only the press law but those which are hidden in the penal code, in the election board, in the investment law. They are scattered. If you want to clearly analysis the situation of the press, you have to see every “Negarit Gazata” in this country. Beside the reporter, we have as a sister company the Horn of Africa Press Institute. The time we spent and the articles we find here and there scattered in Ethiopian laws is amazing.
When you see all this you see a retreating tendency in Ethiopian press freedom. Instead of building our strength regarding press freedom it is a retreat. We have got a beautiful constitution regarding press laws. Just read article 29. At the beginning, when the press law came, it was good. It said: a journalist has the right to get information, and any governmental authority has got the obligation to give information. One should think: This is a good law. Lets build on it. But in the next draft press law this was cancelled. It was replaced by an article that says if a journalist wants to get information he should write a letter three months ahead to the public relations department. Now compare: One law says you have got the right to get information, officials have the obligation to give, and then another draft comes that says: To get information apply for the public department and wait for three months, and we can say no, too. Is this a step forward or backward?
Two examples
Let me give you two examples from the broadcasting law that passed as a law last Thursday. The international standard says that any regulatory body should be independent, non-partisan and neutral. This the good norm.
In 1999 there was a draft for broadcasting. It says the regulatory body is accountable to the prime minister. It became a law. We said: Please make it rather accountable to an independent body. We were expecting they will improve it. By the third version says it is accountable to the minister of information. A step forward or backward? Backward! Because the minister of information is a spokesperson. Imagine this spokesperson is regulating my radio station, speaks for me! You see: It goes from good to bad to worse.
Another example, regarding the licensing and eligibility issue. What does international standard say: No blanket prohibitions on awarding broadcasting licenses. Decision on a case-by-case basis with focus on ensuring diversity. In comparison to this the 1999 version has got three restrictions, on political parties and religious institutions. The one from last week has got eight restrictions. It talks about health, if you were in prison you can‘t get it, if you are mad, etc. But if you are mad you can even be a pilot. The international standard is good, the 1999 law was bad, we complained, but the 2007 version is much worse. The time frame, for example: the international standard requests speedy decisions. In the 1999 law any body who wanted to get into the media had to get the license within 30 days. In the version of last week it is up to the decision of the ministry of justice. It could be 30 days, it could be 300 days. You don’t have a guarantee to say that you get this license on this or that day.
The international standard considers freedom of expression as a human right issue, and our constitution says: through any means, weather art, oral or by printing.
The 2007 law says: Radio is going to be auctioned. You don’t auction democracy! So my worries is: we are backsliding.
Recommendations to enhance press freedom
So what is the solution? I have considered the dangers from two angles, and the solution for the freedom of the press first has to be found within the press itself.
To create a free and responsible media,
a. Media professionals should create a common professional platform i.e. association and discuss their problems. It is important to sit together. If we are scattered, we can’t fight for the freedom of the press.
b. We need a journalist‘s ethics and a code of conduct.
C. We must create a press council to regulate ourselves rather than to be regulated by the government.
What do we expect from the government side? We expect to
1. Respect art. 29 of the FDRE Constitution and international principles of freedom of the press. Consistency of all laws: press, information, broadcasting and information laws with the constitution has to be ensured.

2. Create an independent non-governmental and neutral regulatory body accountable to the parliament – proved by appointment of non-partisan members.
3. Recognize the role of the private press and facilitate its capacity building.
4. Transform government controlled media into a public media with editorial independence.
5. Scrap defamation criminal laws and change them into a civil code.
6. Facilitate the creation of a forum bringing together the government and all media organizations to discuss about it.
So, I tried to cite some of the problems and to cite some of the solutions. This is my belief. I have said this when we celebrated freedom of the press at the third of May. And I believe this: Unless we do not solve the problem from every direction, we are not going to solve it.

EAP from strength to strength

By Tesfu Telahoun

Trade and investment is one of the most effective barometers of goof bilateral relations. Ethiopia and Sudan are quietly but steadily building up a strong economic relationship that holds promise of a future of closer cooperation …even economic integration. The two countries have excellent diplomatic ties. Socially, a truly unique people to people affection exists.

“We Sudanese feel at home in Ethiopia just like Ethiopians in the Sudan have always been treated like brothers and sisters,” says Dr.Abdul Rahim Hashim. General Manager, East African Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd (E.A.P), the first international drugs manufacturing company in Ethiopia .

E.A.P is a foreign direct investment (FDI) venture owned by Sudanese and British proprietors who have established perhaps, a model pharmaceuticals plant. Highly professional, EAP operates a virtually contamination free, state of the art production facility in the Gerji area.

Dr. Abdul Rahim is a UK trained veterinarian and pharmacologist with decades of valuable experience in the pharmaceuticals industry. Introducing EAP, Dr. Abdul stated, “EAP is a direct investment foreign company owned and managed by a consortium of Sudanese and British investors. Our company has been registered in 1996 so we have over a decade of presence in Ethiopia . We started production in 2000 and after seven years, have recently embarked on the production of veterinary drugs for the huge Ethiopian market as well as for export to Sudan and other countries. EPA is the first company to start production and export of veterinary drugs from Ethiopia , as far as I know.”

EAP currently operates one human medicines and one veterinary drugs production lines and plans to add an additional veterinary line under its soon to be implemented expansion project. The company expects to double production after expansion works are completed.

EAP has come a long way since it was established with an investment capital of 3 million dollars. Its products are highly sought after for their certified quality.

Adds Dr Abdul, “We use only the best chemicals and other inputs sourced from reputable international suppliers to manufacture our products. EPA has imposed stringent production and quality standards on itself which not only meet but surpass the legal minimum requirement set by the Ministry of Health in Ethiopia and also at international standard. This is done in order to maximize the level of in-house safety safeguards and also in anticipation of stricter drug enforcement and safety standards in the future.”

EAP go the extra mile in ensuring that its products are of high quality, a fact displayed by their resolve to maintain minimum quality standards that are above industry requirements. This confidence in a job well done is evident in the bearing of its management, skilled personnel and also of semi-skilled production staff.

“We train our employees constantly. They are all highly competent and this is reflected in their enthusiastic atitude when performing their duties” says Muna Ahmed, Plant Manager and a professional with extensive management and pharmaceutical experience.

“EAP tries to create a conducive work atmosphere as it believes that a well trained and loyal workforce are its chief assets,” concluded Muna.

The overwhelming majority of Ethiopians have little or no access to modern health services.

The problem is not only about access to healthcare institutions and a lack of trained medical personnel but also of a shortage of medicines and other equipment. Add to this the lack of national and personal financial resources even when medicines may be available. The high cost of branded medicines has also fueled an epidemic of substandard counterfeit drugs imported into Ethiopia from Asia . These unscrupulous manufacturers and their equally to blame Ethiopian client importers have taken advantage of the public's desparate need to obtain their prescription drugs requirement.

Ethiopia is at the lower end (as it would be), on the World Health Report published by the WHO in 2006 and showing the health expenditures as a percentage of GDP and per capita for the 50 most populous countries. Figures for 6 selected countries are supplied to enable the reader to contrast the dire financial limitations of Ethiopia 's healthcare system.