Prime Minister Hailemariam Desssalegn met with the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, on the sideline of the ongoing 30th African Union Summit at the AU headquarters yesterday January 27.
The two leaders capitalized on ways of further boosting the peace and security of the Horn of African region, paying due attention to the security situation in South Sudan and Somalia. PM Hailemariam has reiterated Ethiopia’s continued efforts in bringing about peace and stability to the region. This is exemplified by peacekeeping operations such as the AMISOM. In this respect, the Secretary General has commended Ethiopia’s role in the maintenance of peace and stability in the Region through its various peace keeping missions under the flags of the AU and the UN.
PM met with the Secretary General of UN
Africa Arise – Re-Igniting the African Reformation
This week saw the 9th “Africa Arise” conference, organized by Beza International Church in cooperation with members of the diplomatic community in Addis Abeba. This conference takes place annually, coinciding with the annual African Union meeting and is attended by an increasing number of Christian leaders, diplomats and politicians from all over Africa and from other parts of the world.
During the conference, important issues affecting Africa are discussed and solutions are suggested from the Christian and biblical perspectives. Issues include economic development, resources management, corruption, security and conflict, major contemporary issues in other words.
The conference takes place over three full days, with seminars during day time and a church service every evening during which Christian leaders from several different African countries, including Ethiopia, speak.
Just prior to the opening of the annual assembly of the African Union, the early morning of the last day of the conference, Sunday, is traditionally dedicated for a prayer breakfast in one of the halls at the Africa Union offices in Addis Abeba, attended by many delegates and officials.
This year the conference theme was “RE-IGNITING THE AFRICAN REFORMATION”. As the Christian world celebrates the 500 year anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, the conference took time to look at its implications for us in Africa and lessons we can learn from it. The organizers of the conference stated that: the call for reformation is the result of a frustration about where the past has led us. “While appreciating the decisions made 500 years ago by a few brave men, we feel we are not just to celebrate their achievements, but to also address some of our own concerns about where the past has led us. In many ways, we in Africa have never had the opportunity to stop, assess our position, and chart the preferred way forward.” The conference thus focussed this year on the need for reformation in the areas of ministry, marketplace and family, as these are key to Africa’s future. During the opening session, the speaker stated that we are drawn together by a common cause, a common frustration and a common believe that change can happen, that Africa can be free of what is bad, free of poverty and free of corruption
Now, for something to change or to be reformed, the assumption is that it was formed in the first place and in the course of its further development some deformation must have taken place. The process of forming, deforming and reforming was compared by several of the speakers with pottering, where the potter forms an object from clay with his hands, using a turntable, upon which the clay is placed. It is important for the potter to place the clay in the centre of the turntable, otherwise it will tilt to one side or the other during the process of forming or reforming. In other words, it is essential for the clay to be centred right, while the momentum of the wheel provides the condition for the hands of the potter to mould and change the clay into the shape he has in his mind. The parallel was then drawn with the theme of the conference, the reformation of the church and re-igniting it. We must centre ourselves on the wheel, lest the end result will be tilted. Now, as long as the centre point is economy based, the result will never be like what we have in mind, what we envision. Instead, the centre point must be value based and derived from a value based vision.
Values represent what we find really important in life and surprisingly enough very few people will find it easy to define exactly what their values are. But most people act according to their values even if they are not very conscious about it. After all, where your treasure is, there your heart will be. If someone finds it very important to have a car (s)he will try and get one. Those of you, who have built a house, will know how difficult it was to complete the project but it was worth it because it was very important to you. Other people find it important to be around their family and because of it hesitate to take on a job that will separate them from their family. Other examples of values are to have respect for each other, to be honest, integrity, etc. We can also know what people do not find important as we observe their behaviour. Somebody who finds it important to get rich quick but does not value honesty or hard work for example will find other innovative ways to get the money. In other words, values are formed in our minds and our values guide our behaviour. Now for change to take place, for a transformation to take place, values must change and for values to change, a change or transformation of the mind must happen.
The foundation of the reformation is then found to be in the home and in the family, referred to in the Bible as the house, built by God. The house is then not referred to as its physical structure but to the family in it. God built His house, beginning with a family, making many and nations came out of the house. Now, a nation is only as strong as the house it came from. If the house is built on brittle rocks and a weak foundation, it will not stand strong and it is in danger of collapse. And so it is with homes and the families in it today. We are building physical structures, not homes and families. The “house” or the home provides the foundation for the family, for society, the nation and its government: the people. The house is therefore the quarry of all things. We must build houses that are worthy, in which there is peace, because that peace will flow into society, the education system, businesses, the market and institutions. Without peace we cannot prosper, with peace we can. We therefor need to take everything back that is not built on solid ground anymore and begin to reform, house to house, home to home. As the potter, we need to form things into new vessels with a renewed mind, a renewed vision, based on and derived from how God saw it and how it is described clearly in the bible. The hands that shape the clay, follow the vision, the thoughts of the potter. We must begin with our thoughts, our individual thoughts and allow ourselves to be transformed by the renewal of our mind. With the family being the foundation of society, we need to model our children, instruct them in every way of our life, spend time with them. If we don’t spend the time with them, someone else will and other values and influences will be imparted in their minds. Modelling is not the same as telling. Telling can explain but not impart. We need to model what is in our hearts, what our values are and thus shape a value system. If all we talk about is money, guess what our children will find important in life? We wonder why there is so much corruption? The truth is that the values that speak against it are not imparted strong enough in the minds of those who practice it. The issues we face on the continent are not the land and resources; instead the land is blessed with so many resources. But resources without values are useless. Wealth without values is useless as the biblical story of the prodigal son so well explains.
The centre of our turning wheel must be value based, otherwise it is all for nothing. So, what does it take to make reformation reality? Are we willing to change and make change happen? The participants of the conference were boldly confronted by one of the speakers with the fact that often there is no true follow up of the recommendations and action plan, following a conference like this. A commitment was made to really re-ignite the reformation for Africa, taking individual responsibility, to apply it to the family, to engage in the local community, to link that to the wider society and to use Ministry as God’s means to reform.
Note: for more information about Africa Arise and the conference: www.africarise.org
Ton Haverkort
As tantalum mine privatized, push is made for value added production
The Ministry of Public Enterprises (MoPE) is attempting to partially privatize the country’s tantalum mining facility at Kenticha. In its latest bid notice MoPE invited experienced partners to mine for the rare metal.
However experts are criticizing the bid document claiming that it should focus on making value added products from the mineral as opposed to mining raw tantalum. They say a value addition factory at Kenticha will cost a minimum of USD 120 million and a maximum of a quarter billion USD. “However, this would establish an industry that would boost the country’s hard currency from exporting end products as opposed to raw production.
The bid document that MoPE issued indicated it is looking for a partner to manage and expand lithium-tantalum mining at Kenticha. The government has attempted to expand the 25 year old Kenticha mine, located 550km south of Addis Ababa at Adola, many times. However the facility is still the property of the state owned Ethiopian Minerals Development Enterprise, which is now under the Ethiopian Minerals, Petroleum and Bio Fuel Corporation.
Experts said that tantalum mining, which is exported as a concentrate, has several related products that can be produced locally.
Lithium demand has been growing becasue the battery is used in various industries so the global market is huge. For instance the lithium-ion battery automobile industry is now on the rise and is searching for lithium, according to experts.
Tantalum is a major input for the production of electronics, aircraft parts and medical equipment.
“A factory that would make value added products would really help the economy,” experts in the industry added. Tantalum is used to make mobile phones and other electronic gadgets, aircraft parts and medical equipment.
The PM has also followed the issue and the government plans to expand the mining plant as opposed to including partners just to produce and export the concentrated mineral. A pilot tantalum production project began in 1990, during the Derg era. Tantalum concentrate exports for the first six months of the current budget year has earned Ethiopia over USD four million.
Oromia’s regional administration wants to have the youth in the area to take part in producing tantalum as opposed to transferring it to a third party. However, experts say that if the factory produces value added products it will be capital and skilled labor intensive as opposed to just mining which would use unskilled labor.
“The sector is a dangerous business since tantalum concentrate consists of uranium,” an expert said.
The regional administration has already drafted a bill that would allow the region to administer natural resources. Currently the federal government manages or licenses natural resources in all regions. However, Oromia argues that this goes against their constitutional rights.
“We do not have any mechanism to control the operation, provide licensing, and enforce the law,” an expert at the region told Capital recently.
Different social, health and environmental issues have arisen at the area. Capital has confirmation from the Oromia Water, Mining and Energy Bureau that experts from environmental, social and health professions have been at the area recently to assess the effect of the mining sites including Lege Dembi Gold Mining, which is close to Kenticha.
Lege Dembi has also already completed its 20 years production license. This license is awaiting renewal. The company has submitted a request for a ten year extension to the Federal Ministry of Mines, Petroleum and Natural Gas. This is based on their original agreement that states the two parties would extend the production for ten years which is a common practice in the mining sector.
Based on that the upcoming mining proclamation that will be ratified by the ‘Chefe’ (regional council) will give the right to the region to administer the mining resources, develop, provide licenses, terminate the license or close the mine when the agreement ends, penalize and even support the regional mining operation.
India’s medical tourism
People who have the money frequently travel to other countries when they have serious illnesses or need expensive procedures like a kidney transplant or heart surgery. Hopes are that one day Ethiopia will have similar medical facilities and staff to more developed countries but it will require a huge amount of money and years of training to get health care professionals up to speed.
India is a popular place for Ethiopians with the means and others from Africa to travel to for medical treatment. Now some professionals from Indian hospitals are coming to Ethiopia to train Ethiopian health professionals and share experiences. BLK Super Specialty is one of them. The hospital has trained a lot of nurses, and doctors and helped them come to India for hands on training.
Manju Sharma is a Deputy Manager of International Business Relations at this hospital who has travelled to Ethiopia over 15 times to promote her hospital’s services and share her knowledge. She has an MBA in international marketing and twelve years of experience in international patient service in Hospitals. Capital’s Reporter Tesfaye Getnet sat down with Manju to explore more about the BLK Super Specialty mission in Ethiopia and medical tourism as a whole. Excerpts:
| Capital: How did medical tourism become so popular? |
Manju Sharma: Medical Tourism refers to people travelling to a country other than their own to obtain medical treatment. In the past this usually referred to those who travelled from less developed countries for treatment unavailable at home. However, in recent years it may equally refer to those from developed countries who travel from their country to developing countries for lower priced medical treatment. The motivation may be also for medical services unavailable or illegal in the home country.Historically, patients came from developing countries toIndia and other industrialized countries to access specific healthcare services that were not available at home. That continues to a significant degree, but the last decade has seen a general trend toward globalization, with better transportation, better communication, and information access through the Internet.
Capital: How can patients make an informed decision about seeking medical assistance out of their country?
Manju Sharma: Local doctors, hospitals and other patients search online to find the best destination.
Capital: How would you describe India’s potential in this market? How is it perceived abroad as a Medical Tourism Destination?
Manju Sharma: Medical Value travel in India is attractive because of its cost effectiveness and treatment from accredited facilities at par with developed countries at much lower prices. This offers a wide variety of procedures at about one twentieth of the cost of similar procedures in the United States
Capital: We have heard that BLK Super Specialty Hospital is one of the Indian hospitals working to increase Indian medical tourism. Could you tell us more about BLK?
Manju Sharma: BLK Super Speciality Hospital, Delhi, is one of India’s largest, private-sector, quaternary care hospitals and ranked amongst India’s top 10 hospitals. BLK’s comprehensive bouquet of clinical programs covers more than 50 super-specialities and 10 Centres of Excellence that bring together over 450 doctors, cutting edge technology and state-of-the-art infrastructure. With 650,000 square feet of built up area, BLK has over 650 beds including dedicated 125 critical care beds, 17 modular operation theatres and 4 minor OTs. BLK’s team of 1,500 healthcare providers includes 150 globally renowned super-specialists, 300 medical experts and over 800 nurses and paramedics. The other is BLK Nanavati Super Speciality Hospital,Mumbai, which is one of India’s iconic hospitals. Established in 1949, the hospital is patronized by leading echelons of society. The hospital has over a 350 bed capacity including 75 critical care beds, 10 operation rooms and 3 minor OTs. With a clinical talent pool comprising of over 200 specialists, Nanavati has Mumbai’s leading clinical programs for Cardiac Sciences, Paediatrics, Orthopaedics, Radiology, Cosmetology, etc. The hospital’s DNB program, with over 50 residents pursuing super-specializations, is one of India’s most sought after education and training programs.
We have been working towards building an established strong international presence. As a quality healthcare provider we have built a strong relationships in countries like Kenya, Zambia, The Gambia, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Niger, Benin & Togo, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Iraq, Oman, Bahrain, Fiji, Nepal, Uzbekistan among others, where we have a varied mix of tie ups with universities, hospitals, clinics, diagnostic centres, Ministries of Health and Defence Forces. In these countries, we do more than just patient referral, we are involved in providing oversight and training programs to doctors, nurses, medical students and technicians of our local partners; we advise and assist on capacity building of local hospitals, clinics and speciality centres; Ethiopia and our doctors for conducting Continued Medical Education (CME) programmes and surgical camps in various countries; we are providing telemedicine facilities; we are setting up our own diagnostic centres and IVF clinics; etc. We hope that in the near future we can do something along these lines in Ethiopia as well.
Capital: What has BLK Super Specialty Hospital done to share experiences with Ethiopian medical professionals?
Manju Sharma: We are working in the Surgical Units in St Paul and Black Lion Hospital to train the local doctors and are providing medical education and training to healthcare professionals at Zewditu and Abet hospitals.
Capital: What are your plans for Ethiopia in the future ?
Manju Sharma: BLK wants to make Ethiopia independent in terms of treatment. This is because 15 years before India was the same as Ethiopia. Doctors were travelling abroad for training and after their training they used their skills to train local doctors. Now India is the best medical treatment destination in the world. It may take another ten years but we wish the same for Ethiopia.
Capital: India is one of the destinations of Ethiopians but some complain about the cost can you address this?
Manju Sharma: India is the most preferred destinations by most in African countries including Ethiopia. The cost of treatment is the most affordable among other medical tourism destinations such as Thailand, Singapore, Dubai etc. Even the cost of living is very economical with options ranging from USD 150 per day.
Capital :Medical tourism in Europe and Asia is booming. In your opinion, what is the reason for this growth?
Manju Sharma: Treatment costs have risen consistently. It does not matter if you are paying out of your pocket or your insurance company is paying for you. As long as someone is paying for the treatment and the treatment costs increase, sooner or later equivalent quality at cheaper prices will be considered as an option.
Also, the number of private health-care players has grown significantly, especially in India. In search for higher revenue and footfall, these players will certainly look beyond their borders.
Capital: Can you already see the impact the medical tourism industry will have on the economy and especially the health-care system in India?
Manju Sharma: A large health-care system helps the economy to grow. In fact, there are signs of an increased number of medical tourists flying in because of the global economic slowdown. It is a kind of Giffen’s Paradox that we studied in Economics, which implies that the demand for cheaper goods and services goes up during inflation. Medical tourism is good for various allied industries including airlines, hotels, travel agencies, and the pharmaceutical and medical equipment industry.
In India, the medical tourism initiative is driven by players from the private sector. There has been a continual rise in the number of private health-care ventures since 1990. Hence, the medical tourism business is going to grow further as the number of private health-care businesses increases. Currently, the Compound Annual Growth Rate of the industry is estimated to be about 13 to 15 per cent per year.
Capital: Shortage of manpower has been identified as a major challenge in the health sector. This causes people with money to go abroad for care. How can the situation be improved to deliver quality service to Ethiopians?
Manju Sharma: Skilled Manpower is the major problem of developing countries and needs to be addressed. When the private sector in healthcare became aggressive two decades ago, they started inviting Indian doctors serving in the first world with lucrative packages and perks. I am sure hundreds of famous Ethiopian doctors are settled out abroad due to lack of hospitals locally. It’s time to bring back your heroes.
Capital: What are the major challenges facing Africa in medical tourism?
Manju Sharma: The first challenge is power, as many of us understand it you can’t have a modern hospital without proper electricity because you can’t work fully with your medical laboratory and equipment without power. Skilled doctor and paramedic education are the other problems.
