Through the joint efforts of the Hope Physicians Foundation (ÜHDER) and the Turkish Cooperation and Development Agency (TİKA), 40 doctors and health workers will travel to Ethiopia for a week to provide free health services. The team of volunteer doctors includes infection specialists, gynecologists, surgeons, psychologists, pediatricians, eye specialists, dermatologists and dentists.Along with surgical operations and health screenings, the team will also exchange information and participate in educational activities with local health institutions and workers.
Speaking about the program, ÜHDER head Dr. Lütfi Ruhioğlu said 36 percent of the population of Ethiopia is below the poverty line and the Ethiopian government is unable to provide the necessary health care services to its people, particularly in the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS. “The average life expectancy is 50 for men and 52 for women in Ethiopia. Twenty-seven percent of children who die under the age of 5 die in infancy, 23 percent die from malaria, 17 percent from diarrhea and 9 percent from AIDS. We want to help these people with their health problems in some way. We would also like to represent Turkey as best as we can,” Ruhioğlu said.
Noting that the group travelling to Ethiopia includes 37 volunteer doctors -- 23 male and 14 female -- ÜHDER General Coordinator Metin Toprakoğlu said, “Our doctors sacrifice both their time and energy by traveling to Ethiopia.” Stating that they accomplished unprecedented success when they screened 4,500 people in Afghanistan this past April, Toprakoğlu said: “We had a similar experience before. Once again, we are going to provide health services in a more organized and prepared way. We plan to screen 10,000 people in Ethiopia.”
ÜHDER was founded in 2007 to address problems facing physicians in all areas, to make suggestions on improving health care, to contribute to the field of medical social work and to support students studying medicine with scholarships.
