Ethiopia, phone home: Space observatory sees country’s future in the stars

First such telescope in Ethiopia kick-starts astronomical interest, enabling economy to reap benefits of technology

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — When Eyoas Ergetu was a child, he became interested in space science but couldn’t find anywhere to study it. He went on to become a mechanical engineering graduate student at Addis Ababa University, where he studies. And, now 24, he has managed to find an outlet for his thwarted celestial interests, thanks to Ethiopia’s first space observatory, the Entoto Observatory and Research Center.
“It’s very exciting to be working here,” he said beside one of the observatory’s two 1-meter telescopes, each of which weighs 6 tons and cost about $1.5 million.
The observatory sits atop the Entoto Mountains strewn with eucalyptus forest overlooking the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. It has already opened its doors to researchers and students, and by the end of January, its two telescopes are expected to be declared fully functional by a panel of scientific inspectors.
At the same time, a feasibility study is well underway for construction of another space observatory at Lalibela, home to Ethiopia’s famous rock-hewn churches.
These observatories will kick-start space science technology in Ethiopia — an important boost to development, those involved say, as the technology has applications in myriad areas in the public and private sectors.

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Ethiopia: Ethiopian Airlines Cargo plane crashes in Ghana

Ethiopian Airlines Cargo Plane (Boeing 737-400) at the crash site at Accra Airport, Ghana. Photo Credit: AviationSafety

An Ethiopian Airlines cargo plane crashed on Saturday overshooting the runway at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra, Ghana.

Early reports claim that three crew members injured on board the cargo plane have been rushed to the 37 military hospital in Accra.

The Corporate Communications Officer of the Ghana Airport Company, Newman Quartey said though the victims survived the incident, they had to be rushed to the hospital for medical attention, according to media reports from Ghana.

New doctor will return home to aid women's health in Ethiopia

CHICAGO - Dr. Gelila Goba hasn't forgotten where she came from.
Instead of joining a comfortable practice in the U.S. after completing her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University, Goba instead will be caring for patients in her native Ethiopia, where in many communities light and heat qualify as luxuries.
After she graduates in May, Goba plans to move back to Ethiopia to implement a new initiative that she hopes will improve the state of women's health in the desperately poor country of 90 million.
"A lot has been given to me," said Goba, during a break at Prentice Women's Hospital at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in downtown Chicago. "I must make sure that I use those gifts wisely."
The program is a partnership between Northwestern and Mekelle University in Ethiopia. It provides medical education, clinical training and research in sub-Saharan Africa, where acute doctor shortages and women's health continue to be vexing problems.
In Ethiopia, the maternal mortality rate is twice the global average, and the rate of death from cervical cancer is almost seven times higher than in the U.S., according to the World Health Organization. The entire country has about 220 OB-GYNs nationwide - roughly the same number as Northwestern Memorial alone, according to university officials.

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Ethiopia launches school program to treat parasitic worms

(Reuters) - Ethiopia is launching a national initiative in schools this year to treat children at risk of infection from parasitic worms, mirroring a program in Kenya which has improved child health and school attendance, a charity involved said.

Ethiopia aims to treat at least 80 percent of children at risk from parasitic worms by 2020, Evidence Action said.

The Horn of Africa nation, ravaged by famine in the 1980s, has received international praise for the way it has improved its national health system, notably via community programs.

The country of about 96 million people has more than 10 million children at risk for schistosomiasis, caused by a parasite found in contaminated lakes or other freshwater sites, and 18 million children at risk from soil-transmitted helminths, parasitic worms, the U.S.-based charity said.

New Ethiopian immigrant goes missing on first day of school, spends night in vacant house

17-year-old Beth Eliso, a recent immigrant from Ethiopia, went missing on her first of school after getting lost while walking home for lunch.

 A teen who immigrated to Canada from Ethiopia just last month had a terrible first day of school in the Winnipeg area this week, becoming badly lost trying to find her way home and spending the night in a vacant house.

Seventeen-year-old Beth Zeleke Eliso decided to walk home during her lunch hour Monday, but quickly lost her way. Rather than seek help, she wandered the streets for hours, trying to find the way back to school and looking for anything familiar.

"In my mind, I knew my house. Where is my house? And so I think: I can go back,” Eliso explained to CTV Winnipeg in broken English.