New hope for Ethiopians

Soldiers Magazine, August, 2005 by Heike Hasenauer

AS TASK force chief of staff Marine Col. Craig Huddleston and chief of operations COL Edwin Anderson exited the CH-53E Marine helicopter on a makeshift dirt landing strip outside the village of Jijiga, Ethiopia, Ethiopian police, dressed in blue suits and riding motorcycles, sped up to escort the white vans that transported the visitors to the village's hospital.

Inside the van, Arabic music played and red curtains with gold pompoms fluttered before the van's windows, keeping curious onlookers at bay.

As part of its mission to visit specific geographic areas of the country and recommend improvements to schools, hospitals and other facilities, an Army Reserve civil-affairs team from the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion had recommended upgrades to the village's Karamara Hospital.

Anderson and Huddleston were among a group of joint-service guests from the Djibouti, Africa-based Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa being honored at a dedication ceremony of the newly renovated facility.

Young women, among them hospital medical assistants in colorful sarongs, offered the guests small yellow cakes and bottled drinks as the U.S. and Ethiopian officials exchanged greetings and pledges for the future.

"This hospital is a wonderful symbol of the relationship between the people of Ethiopia and America," Abdi Jabril Abubakar, president of the Somali Regional State, where the hospital is located, told guests, through an interpreter.

Huddleston replied: "It's important that we continue to strengthen the relationship between America and Ethiopia. It's our pleasure to be here, and we look forward to a long relationship."

The 208-bed hospital--a far cry even from a standard U.S. clinic--stood dilapidated after 44 years of use and no renovations, said hospital director Dr. Taha Hussein.

Forty-four years ago 10,000 people lived in the village, Abubakar said. "Now 150,000 people come here and receive care, and it's free."

"We can perform X-rays, ultrasound exams and EKGs, and both major and minor surgeries," Hussein said. "And now we have fans in the patient's rooms, and there are windows."

The outside of the hospital received bright yellow siding and paved walkways that help keep desert dust outside the facility.

In the village with the highest malaria rate and second highest HIV-infection rate in Ethiopia, according to Hussein, patients will now be better protected from outdoor elements and infection.

Besides providing treatment for malaria, the hospital's staff treats tuberculosis, parasites and malnutrition. Soon they'll have the necessary drugs to treat AIDS, Hussein said.

"The American Soldiers have been in our area one and a half years," said Abubakar. "That short time seems a very long time when we consider what they've done for the community. They have treated our people and animals, drilled three wells in Jijiga and renovated schools and hospitals in other villages."