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Ethiopian visitors - UK visas granted!

27/8/2017

All three of the colleagues we've invited from Hossana have been granted UK visas! Dr Ayano (consultant physician and Medical Director), Mr Nebiyu (Chief Executive and Vice President of the town's university) and Dr Abeselom (junior doctor with an interest in general and intensive care medicine) will be at Glan Clwyd from September 4th-16th. They will be teaching, learning and sharing experiences with clinical and non-clinical staff. We're really looking forward to having them and hope they enjoy their visit - we can be sure they'll get a warm Glan Clwyd welcome!

This recent BBC article highlights how difficult it is for established health links to host visitors to the UK under our current visa system. We're delighted to have succeeded this time, so once again many thanks to all those who have made this possible.

Ethiopian Colleagues Invited to Visit

14/7/2017

We have invited three people from Hossana Hospital to visit Glan Clwyd in September: Dr Ayano (a consultant Physician and the Medical Director), Ato Nebiyu (the Chief Executive and Vice President of Wachemo University) and Dr Abeselom (a junior doctor with an interest in General and Intensive Care medicine).

Last year the UK Visa and Immigration Service did not respond positively to our invited visitors' applications and they weren't able to come. This year we have had amazing support from BCUHB board members including the Chief Executive Gary Doherty, our own Medical Director Dr Emma Hosking, MP Guto Bebb and his team, Welsh Government and Hub Cymru Africa. Thank you all!

Watch this space for updates.....

Ethiopia Link Needs You!

5/7/2017

We are revamping the structure of the Ethiopia Link group, to make better use of the talents of its members and ensure longterm sustainability of the Link. The following defined roles will be appointed and reviewed at a yearly AGM (the first of which will be our next meeting on September 20th):

Chair
Deputy Chair
Secretary
Treasurer
Publicity and fundraising manager
Website and social media manager

If you fancy taking any of these on, or would like more details, contact Kit.

Remember: new members are always welcome - come along to the next meeting!

Ethiopia Link at Africa Day Celebrations

25/5/2017

Ethiopia Link joined the celebrations for Africa Day, organised by Hub Cymru Africa at the Senedd in Cardiff. Africa Day is celebrated across the world to commemorate the foundation of the African Union in 1963 - a year when the majority of African countries had gained independence from colonisation. Of course, Ethiopia was never colonised....

We ran a stall to celebrate and raise awareness of our activities: it was very popular, hopefully not just because of the coffee cakes, made with coffee from raw beans gifted to us on our last visit to Hossana! The day was supported by many Welsh Assembly Members, including the First Minister, Carwyn Jones, and North Wales AM Mark Isherwood. There were, of course, lots of other stalls and music from the excellent Zim Voices Choir. Thanks to HCA and the Senedd for hosting in such a beautiful setting!

Lift Repairs Underway!

4/4/2017

Engineers from Addis Ababa have visited Hossana to repair the hospital's lift - a project majority funded by our Link. During our last visit Dr Ayano, the hospital's Medical Director, hurt his back carrying a sick patient to the ICU - bad for him and undignified for the patient, and just one example of why we believe this work is important. There are just a few more safety tests to be done then, for the first time in 20 years, patients will be able to move between the hospital's four floors in comfort!

2017 Grant Application Approved!

30/3/2017

Our grant application has been approved! The £6,390 will go towards supporting our visit to Hossana in the Autumn, which will provide more support for Hossana's ultrasound/echocardiography services, medical engineering work and intensive care training, amongst other things. It will also fund a reciprocal visit of two colleagues from Hossana to Glan Clwyd: Dr Ayano, a physician and the Medical Director, and Dr Abesalom, a junior doctor with an interest in general and intensive care medicine. Thank you to Hub Cymru Africa and the Welsh Government for supporting our work again.

Soroptimists raise £1000 for Diathermy

22/2/2017

Denbigh, Ruthin and District Soroptimists have raised £1000 for the Link! This has paid in full for one diathermy machine for Hossana. Diathermy cauterises bleeding and can save lives during all sorts of surgery, including caesarian sections. Kit gave a short talk to the group and received their cheque from Sheila Henri, the club's president. The photo also shows Dr Ewa Turczanska, a Dermatologist at Glan Clwyd and member of the Soroptimists, who suggested the fundraising. This is a very generous donation and the diathermy machine will make a huge difference to Hossana's patients - thank you very much Soroptimists!

Happy Birthday Wales for Africa!

9/5/2016

The Wales for Africa programme is 10 years old! Wales for Africa supports all sorts of projects, and through its Health Links Network has helped Glan Clwyd-Ethiopia Link to get off the ground and stay afloat during our own decade of activity. To say thank you, we contributed to their anniversary video - watch it here.

Hossana HOspital award

31/3/2016

Hossana hospital has won a national award in Ethiopia's 'Clean and Safe Hospitals' (CASH) programme! The judges were impressed with the hospital's work to improve performance and cleanliness, and its leadership in regional hospitals' 'alliance for quality'. The hospital received a letter of recognition from Ethiopia's Ministry of Health and 3 million Birr (around £100,000) in additional funding.

Dr Ayano, Hossana's Medical Director (on the left of the photo below), has thanked the Link for its contributions to the water supply, sewerage system and latrines. We accept his thanks, but know that the credit really goes to Hossana's management and staff for driving forward these changes. Congratulations Dr Ayano and team!