Due to an economy where 80% of the employment is in agriculture, half of the population of Ethiopia lives below the $2.00 per day poverty line. As a result, the health status of the Ethiopian people is lower than the poorest of the African countries. Many of the 70 million suffer from a huge burden of malnutrition and preventable diseases such as HIV, malaria, tuberculosis, intestinal worms, acute respiratory infections and diarrheal diseases.

Health facilities are very limited in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. Although physicians are generally well-trained, even the best hospitals in Addis Ababa suffer from antiquated equipment and a shortage of supplies and medication. Emergency assistance is also very limited.

Sisay A. Shimelis and Akeza Teame, M.D. are Ethiopian born, naturalized American citizens who attended universities in Kansas and Missouri. For many years these young men sustained a passion to improve the level of healthcare in their motherland. During their time in the Kansas City area, they shared this dream with others and created a broad base of friends and business associates, including James A. Everett, President of the Ethiopia Health Support Foundation.

Mr. Everett was awarded the 2002 World Citizen of the Year by the United Nations Association of Kansas City and was the President of the Kansas City Interfaith Peace Alliance. He was moved by Shimelis and Teame's dedication to help solve the healthcare crisis and join in the efforts to build a modern 250 bed hospital in Addis Ababa and a network of satellite clinics. The first clinic is scheduled to open 2006.

Among numerous gifts, EHSF has benefitted especially from the generosity of The Hospital Corporation of America (HCA). HCA has two facilities in Missouri -- the Independence Regional Health Center and the Medical Center of Independence. Each have donated a significant amount of highly recyclable equipment. The generosity of these organizations is so impressive that the bigger challenge for the friends and board members of EHSF is to get these recycled goods shipped to where they are so desperately needed.