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Ethiopia is Africa's oldest independent country, with a history dating back over 2000 years. Its Rift Valley is known as the "cradle of humanity," where fossils of the world's earliest humans were found. Despite its rich history and culture, Ethiopia is now one of the poorest countries in the world. Internal migration, largely due to drought, widespread poverty, and low education levels, especially among women, drive the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Ethiopia. As in many places, the impact of AIDS radiates outwards, affecting families, communities, and the nation as a whole – reversing gains in development made in the last decades and leaving virtually no community untouched.
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Approximately 1.3 million Ethiopians are living with HIV/AIDS, which disproportionately affects young people and women. The estimated adult prevalence rate is 3.5%, 10.5% in urban areas and 2% in rural areas. Over the last two decades, the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Ethiopia has taken on the following characteristics:
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There has been a gradual rise in national prevalence. |
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The urban epidemic has peaked and plateaued at high prevalence levels. |
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There is a gradual but steady rise in HIV prevalence in rural areas. |
While the national incidence rate appears to be leveling off and the epidemic may be stabilizing in some urban areas, more than 277,800 individuals have advanced HIV/AIDS and are in need of immediate antiretroviral treatment. Local successes related to behavior change, increased acceptance of VCT, increased condom use, and delivery of care and treatment services must be taken to scale, especially in rural areas where knowledge about HIV/AIDS remains relatively low and the epidemic is taking hold.
The Government of Ethiopia, through the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH), and its partners have taken an aggressive stance to prevent the further spread of HIV/AIDS and to provide needed care and support services to those infected and affected. The Strategic Framework for the National Response to HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia, and other technical guidelines and Road Maps, inform a coordinated response to HIV/AIDS at the national, regional, and local levels. Donor funds to support the Ethiopian FMOH's HIV/AIDS efforts have increased exponentially in the recent past, including increased funding from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, President George W. Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the World Health Organization, and many others. ICAP, the International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health is pleased to join the multiple partners working to expand access to HIV/AIDS care and treatment in Ethiopia.
