Ethiopia - Pathfinder International

Fact Sheet P A T H F I N D E R I N T E R N A T I O N A L
Responding to HIV/AIDS
Ethiopia
HIV/AIDS Indicators at a Glance
Total population (2003)
70.7 mil
Adult HIV prevalence rate (2003) 4.4%
Estimated number of adults and
children living with HIV/AIDS (2003) 1.5 mil
Estimated number of children
orphaned by HIV/AIDS
720,000 – 1.2mil
Source: PRB World Population Data Sheet, Ministry of Health,
UNAIDS, U.S. Census Bureau
BACKGROUND
HIV prevalence in Ethiopia is increasing at an alarming rate and is impacting all
sectors of society. Due to poor data collection, HIV/AIDS prevalence rate estimates
vary, from 4.4 percent (UNAIDS), i (Ministry of Health), ii to as high as 10 percent to
18 percent quoted by the National Intelligence Council. iii Factors contributing
to the growing epidemic include high internal migration (largely due to
drought), a large population of displaced people, many demobilized soldiers, low
education levels, lack of health education and awareness of youth, and minimal
condom use. HIV prevalence among pregnant women in Addis Ababa rose from
4.6 percent in 1989 to 13.2 percent at the end of 2002, and reached an adjusted
rate of 12.4 percent at the end of 2003. iv Most HIV infections occur among
youth, with more young women being infected than men. According to the
Ministry of Health, an estimated 538,674 children had been orphaned due to
AIDS by the end of 2003. v
PATHFINDER’S RESPONSE TO HIV/AIDS IN ETHIOPIA
Pathfinder was one of the first international organizations to use private funds to
support Family Planning (FP) and Reproductive Health (RH) activities in
Ethiopia during the years when U.S. government funding was suspended for
political reasons. In 1964, Pathfinder gave a small grant to a group of Ethiopians
to carry out FP activities. This group evolved into what is now the Family
Guidance Association of Ethiopia (FGAE), the largest FP provider in the country.
Pathfinder's HIV/AIDS projects in Ethiopia aim to prevent the spread of the virus
and to care for those who are infected or affected. Pathfinder’s programs aim to
build local partners’ capacity to integrate HIV/AIDS efforts into existing FP and
RH services and seek to strengthen community-based HIV/AIDS activities,
especially with vulnerable groups.
• Leveraging the Expansion of HIV/AIDS, Gender, and Reproductive
Health Projects
This is a three-year program funded by The Swedish International Development
Agency (SIDA) under its Civil Society Organization and Nongovernmental
Organization (CSO and NGO) Cooperation and Support Program (2004–2007).
It contributes to the Sustainable Development and the Poverty Reduction Program
(SDPRD) of Ethiopia by helping to remove factors that create or perpetuate
i UNAIDS. 2004. Ethipia: Epidemiological Fact Sheets on HIV/AIDS and STIs. www.undaids.org
ii Ministry of Health, Ethiopia. Disease Prevention and Control Department. 2004. AIDS in Ethiopia.
iii National Intelligence Council. 2002. The next wave of HIV/AIDS: Nigeria, Ethiopia, Russia, India and China.
www.odci.gov/nic
iv Ministry of Health, Ethiopia. Disease Prevention and Control Department. 2004. AIDS in Ethiopia.
v Ibid.

poverty. The project has four objectives: (1) Contribute to
the reduction of the spread of STIs and HIV/AIDS, and
reduce stigma and discrimination against and improve
the quality of life of people living with HIV/AIDS and
their families; (2) Increase access to quality RH services
through diversified service delivery approaches and
geographical expansion of programs; (3) Contribute to
the national effort to increase access to adolescent RH
information and services and; (4) Enhance the capacity
of sub-grantee NGOs/CSOs to enable them to manage
integrated quality HIV/AIDS, FP, and family health
programs and services toward sustainable strategies and
accountability. The key component of the SIDA project
is building the capacity of CSOs/NGOs and enhancing
the capacity of Pathfinder Ethiopia in HIV/AIDS care
and support interventions. The project is designed to
complement existing program city administrations (Addis
Ababa and Dire Dawa) through 12 civic organizations
and 11 local NGOs.
• Comprehensive Private Sector Reproductive
Health Program
This six-year program, funded by the Packard Foundation,
is designed to increase the accessibility and availability of
FP and RH, including HIV prevention, services through
the private sector in three major regions of Ethiopia
(Addis Ababa, Amhara, and Oromia). Pathfinder trains
private sector physicians, nurses, midwives, and community
health workers to offer a range of preventive and clinical
services. The program seeks to reduce fertility and maternal
and infant mortality, as well as to increase knowledge of,
and access to, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) and
HIV/AIDS counseling and preventive services. Phase II of
the program, which began in January 2002, includes the
implementation of an adolescent sexual and reproductive
health component in selected areas. Pathfinder supports
youth groups, the media, and faith-based organizations to
provide information and services to Ethiopian youth,
particularly on STIs and HIV/AIDS prevention. Phase II
also includes expansion of outreach efforts to all major
marketplaces in the ten target woredas. With the help of
public address systems, marketplace agents spread the word
about FP, STIs, and HIV/AIDS, and then make referrals to
nearby clinics.
• Family Planning and Reproductive
Health Project
In 2002, Pathfinder was awarded a five-year USAID
agreement to support FP and RH activities in three focus
regions of Ethiopia (Amhara, Oromia, and SNNPR).
The project has been expanded to two more regional
states, Tigray and Benishangul–Gumuz, and one City
Administration: Addis Ababa. The project’s primary
emphasis is on providing integrated services through
traditional and alternative service-delivery mechanisms.
This includes community-based HIV/AIDS services, such
as home-based care, behavior change communication,
condom promotion, referrals for voluntary counseling
and testing, prevention of mother-to-child transmission
services, and working with vulnerable populations such as
youth and long distance drivers. Pathfinder is currently
working with 46 implementing partner organizations
spread over five regions, 42 zones, 250 woredas, and two
special woredas, with funding from various sources.
Twenty-three of the 46 partner organizations specifically
implement integrated RH and FP and HIV/AIDS care
and support programs.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Tilahun Giday, Country Representative
Pathfinder International/Ethiopia
P.O. Box 12655
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Tel:+251 (1) 613-330
Fax:+251 (1) 614-209
Email: TGiday@pathfind.org
www.pathfind.org • info@pathfind.org
0506/5k