Ethiopia War Health Care USAGM
Metadata
- Ethiopia War Health Care USAGM
- July 25, 2022
- Content Type Package
- Language English
- Transcript/Script English USAGM SHARE ((PLAYBOOK SLUG: ETHIOPIA WAR HEALTH CARE HEADLINE: Communities in Ethiopia's Afar Region Struggle with Access to Medical Services TEASER: WHO says food aid must be combined with medical aid to save lives in war-torn region PUBLISHED: Friday, 07/22/2022 at BYLINE: Henry Wilkins DATELINE: BERHALE, ETHIOPIA VIDEOGRAPHER: Henry Wilkins VIDEO EDITOR: PRODUCER: SCRIPT EDITORS: Tom Turco, cobus, Salem Solomon, pcd VIDEO SOURCES: VOA, ZOOM PLATFORMS: WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO__ TRT: VID APPROVED BY: EDITOR NOTES: )) ((INTRO)) [[Regional authorities, medical professionals and residents of Ethiopia’s Afar region say they are in dire need of medical aid with hundreds of hospitals and health centers destroyed by conflict. The World Health Organization says it is struggling to fulfil the country’s needs as crises around the world intensify. Henry Wilkins reports from Berhale, Ethiopia.]] ((VOA-VIDEO: ESTABLISHING SHOTS OF ALI - various)) ((NARRATOR)) Maryam Abdala Ali lost her daughter in May after the toddler swallowed an object found on the floor. ((Maryam Abdala Ali, Mother (in Afar, 30 secs))) "But when we went to the local health center, they told us that they could not perform an operation on her because they didn’t have the right equipment. They said we had to go to the city of Semera for the operation, but my daughter died on the way." ((VOA-VIDEO: DESTROYED MEDICAL CENTRES IN BERHALE AND AFAR- various, ESTABLISHING SHOTS OF DOCTOR - various)) ((NARRATOR)) Ali lives in the town of Berhale in Ethiopia’s Afar region, where Tigrayan forces, who occupied the region until April, destroyed health care facilities before they left. . The regional government says 60 health centers were put out of commission by the occupying forces, although Tigrayan forces and the Tigray regional leadership deny allegations. A doctor at the center where Ali took her daughter said they no longer had the equipment to save her life. ((Mohammed Hussain Abdula, Doctor, Berhale Medical Centre (in Amharic))) "This health center was one of those where medical devices were available. In the past, we used to perform operations because all the equipment and the medications we needed were here, but the TPLF destroyed this health center completely." ((VOA-VIDEO: DESTROYED MEDICAL CENTRE IN KONABBA- various)) ((NARRATOR)) The Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or the TPLF, did not respond to VOA’s request for comment on the damage in the region. In nearby Konnaba district, a health center was ransacked and severely damaged. ((Kedir Deressa Humed, Konnaba Health Center Medical Director (in Amharic))) "The medical laboratories have been completely destroyed, and we cannot carry out health checks because we do not have medical equipment, even treatments for AIDS and diabetes. There is a big shortage of medications. Also, the lack of electricity has a negative impact." ((VOA-VIDEO: DESTROYED MEDICAL CENTRE IN KONNABA - various, DESTROYED MEDICAL CENTRES IN BERHALE AND AFAR- various)) ((NARRATOR)) A similar story at this hospital, funded by a German nonprofit. While the need for food aid in Ethiopia has been dominating the headlines, officials say there is a great need for medical services too. The U.N.’s World Health Organization says that just 22% of health care facilities are fully functioning in Afar and the neighboring Amhara region compared to the period before the conflict began in late 2020. It’s not clear how many medical facilities remain in each region. The World Health Organization says there is a life-threatening shortage of medical services in Afar towns once occupied by Tigrayan forces. The WHO told VOA medical and food aid must be combined to be effective in Ethiopia. ((Dr. Ilham Abdelhai Nour, WHO Global Health Adviser (in English, 25 secs))) ((Mandatory cg: Zoom)) "Whether it’s in terms of essential supplies, whether in terms of monitoring food or infectious diseases, whether it’s in terms of immunization services or services for mothers and children. It’s really important for the services to be provided at the same time as food." ((VOA-VIDEO: SHOTS OF ALI - various, DESTROYED MEDICAL CENTERS IN BERHALE AND AFAR- various)) ((NARRATOR)) For Ali, aid came too late to save her daughter, but for others, there may still be time. ((Henry Wilkins for VOA News, Berhale, Ethiopia))
- Transcript/Script USAGM SHARE ((PLAYBOOK SLUG: ETHIOPIA WAR HEALTH CARE HEADLINE: Communities in Ethiopia's Afar Region Struggle with Access to Medical Services TEASER: WHO says food aid must be combined with medical aid to save lives in war-torn region PUBLISHED: Friday, 07/22/2022 at BYLINE: Henry Wilkins DATELINE: BERHALE, ETHIOPIA VIDEOGRAPHER: Henry Wilkins VIDEO EDITOR: PRODUCER: SCRIPT EDITORS: Tom Turco, cobus, Salem Solomon, pcd VIDEO SOURCES: VOA, ZOOM PLATFORMS: WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO__ TRT: VID APPROVED BY: EDITOR NOTES: )) ((INTRO)) [[Regional authorities, medical professionals and residents of Ethiopia’s Afar region say they are in dire need of medical aid with hundreds of hospitals and health centers destroyed by conflict. The World Health Organization says it is struggling to fulfil the country’s needs as crises around the world intensify. Henry Wilkins reports from Berhale, Ethiopia.]] ((VOA-VIDEO: ESTABLISHING SHOTS OF ALI - various)) ((NARRATOR)) Maryam Abdala Ali lost her daughter in May after the toddler swallowed an object found on the floor. ((Maryam Abdala Ali, Mother (in Afar, 30 secs))) "But when we went to the local health center, they told us that they could not perform an operation on her because they didn’t have the right equipment. They said we had to go to the city of Semera for the operation, but my daughter died on the way." ((VOA-VIDEO: DESTROYED MEDICAL CENTRES IN BERHALE AND AFAR- various, ESTABLISHING SHOTS OF DOCTOR - various)) ((NARRATOR)) Ali lives in the town of Berhale in Ethiopia’s Afar region, where Tigrayan forces, who occupied the region until April, destroyed health care facilities before they left. . The regional government says 60 health centers were put out of commission by the occupying forces, although Tigrayan forces and the Tigray regional leadership deny allegations. A doctor at the center where Ali took her daughter said they no longer had the equipment to save her life. ((Mohammed Hussain Abdula, Doctor, Berhale Medical Centre (in Amharic))) "This health center was one of those where medical devices were available. In the past, we used to perform operations because all the equipment and the medications we needed were here, but the TPLF destroyed this health center completely." ((VOA-VIDEO: DESTROYED MEDICAL CENTRE IN KONABBA- various)) ((NARRATOR)) The Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or the TPLF, did not respond to VOA’s request for comment on the damage in the region. In nearby Konnaba district, a health center was ransacked and severely damaged. ((Kedir Deressa Humed, Konnaba Health Center Medical Director (in Amharic))) "The medical laboratories have been completely destroyed, and we cannot carry out health checks because we do not have medical equipment, even treatments for AIDS and diabetes. There is a big shortage of medications. Also, the lack of electricity has a negative impact." ((VOA-VIDEO: DESTROYED MEDICAL CENTRE IN KONNABA - various, DESTROYED MEDICAL CENTRES IN BERHALE AND AFAR- various)) ((NARRATOR)) A similar story at this hospital, funded by a German nonprofit. While the need for food aid in Ethiopia has been dominating the headlines, officials say there is a great need for medical services too. The U.N.’s World Health Organization says that just 22% of health care facilities are fully functioning in Afar and the neighboring Amhara region compared to the period before the conflict began in late 2020. It’s not clear how many medical facilities remain in each region. The World Health Organization says there is a life-threatening shortage of medical services in Afar towns once occupied by Tigrayan forces. The WHO told VOA medical and food aid must be combined to be effective in Ethiopia. ((Dr. Ilham Abdelhai Nour, WHO Global Health Adviser (in English, 25 secs))) ((Mandatory cg: Zoom)) "Whether it’s in terms of essential supplies, whether in terms of monitoring food or infectious diseases, whether it’s in terms of immunization services or services for mothers and children. It’s really important for the services to be provided at the same time as food." ((VOA-VIDEO: SHOTS OF ALI - various, DESTROYED MEDICAL CENTERS IN BERHALE AND AFAR- various)) ((NARRATOR)) For Ali, aid came too late to save her daughter, but for others, there may still be time. ((Henry Wilkins for VOA News, Berhale, Ethiopia))
- NewsML Media Topics Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
- Network VOA
- Embargo Date July 25, 2022 09:29 EDT
- Byline Henry Wilkins
- Brand / Language Service Voice of America