The BBC World Service Trust is focusing on improving health, education and livelihoods in Ethiopia. We are working with a wide range of partners to improve the sexual and reproductive health of young people and to stimulate debate about key development issues.
Context
The way the radio programme deals with sexual and reproductive health has inspired me.
Sefa Jemal, 17 year old radio listener in Ethiopia
Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world - 47% of the population lives on one US dollar per day, or less.
Rural communities struggle to make a living from farming and livestock, and Ethiopia regularly faces humanitarian crises, including food shortages, natural disasters and related emergency health crises.
Approximately 1.4% of the population - or more than 1 million people - are HIV positive. The rate of HIV infection in urban areas is gradually declining, while the infection rate in rural areas has stabilised.
The ruling political party, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, has been in power since 1995. There are periodic reports of widespread human rights violations and ethnic conflict.
Facts
- 77 million people live in Ethiopia, making it the second most populous country in sub-Saharan Africa
- Half of Ethiopia's children are underweight for their age
- 62% of Ethiopians do not have access to public health services
- Literacy rates are low: 26.4% of women and girls and 39.3% of men and boys in Ethiopia are illiterate
Working in partnership
We are working in partnership with Ethiopian health workers, community leaders, not-for-profit organisations and the national broadcaster, Radio Ethiopia, to improve the sexual and reproductive health of young people in Ethiopia. More
As a part of this process, we have trained dozens of Ethiopian journalists and producers in radio production and how to communicate health issues. More
Working in partnership with Ethiopian broadcaster, the Amhara Mass Media Agency, we produced Ethiopia's first radio soap opera recorded on location, designed to stimulate debate about key development issues. More
