The Annual Report for 2024 is now available and can be found here.
Freddie Collins attends Palliative Care Congress
Hospice Ethiopia UK is delighted that our trustee, Freddie Collins, attended this year’s Palliative Care Congress in Belfast. This is the UK’s annual conference for palliative care practitioners and researchers. Here is her feedback:
“I was presenting an audit I completed while I lived in Ethiopia in 2024. For this audit, I went through the records of 100 patient notes to find out what symptoms they experienced and what medications the Hospice Ethiopia (HE) team used to manage their symptoms.
The main symptom that patients experienced was pain. 95% of cancer patients, and 91% of patients with HIV, experienced pain. On the first visit made by the HE team, only 5% of patients had their pain controlled. By their last visit, this proportion had increased to 60%. Most importantly, only 33% of patients had access to morphine, which is an essential medication to treat pain in patients at the end of their lives.
This audit shows two things. Firstly, how brilliant the HE nurses are! Even though they have a limited selection of tablet pain relief medications, they are still able to drastically improve pain in their patients. This is because, with your ongoing support, they are able to provide psychological, spiritual and economic support which helps to soothe pain in multi-dimensional ways.
Secondly, this audit highlights how an unmet need for pain control still does exist, as 40% of patients remain with uncontrolled pain at the end of their lives, but two thirds do not have access to oral morphine. If this study was repeated now on patients currently registered with Hospice Ethiopia, the access to oral morphine would probably be even more limited.
This inequitable access to morphine is a global problem. We can read in the 2018 Lancet Commission on Palliative Care and Pain Relief, how half of the global population receives less than 1% of global morphine supply. This audit therefore supports the urgent need for a reliable supply of oral morphine in Ethiopia and we hope that the Ethiopian government’s plan to develop a national morphine production unit will advance soon.”
Patient story: Berknesh
Berknesh is a 40 year old woman who was diagnosed with HIV 4 years ago, not long after her husband died (he was 30 years older than her). He was Romanian and they had met at the Romanian embassy where they both worked. After their marriage, they lived in a comfortable house, with nice clothes and possessions. They had a son together, who is now aged 10.
Four and a half years ago, Berknesh’s husband was involved in a serious car accident and could no longer work. He subsequently died from his injuries. After her husband’s death she became depressed and bit by bit had to sell their possessions to survive. In order to earn some money, Berknesh became a sex worker which is how she caught HIV. She declined to take anti-retroviral medication for her disease as she felt the disease was a punishment from God for her sex work. She now lives in a one-room house and is struggling to pay ETB 3,000 (£42) per month in rent. Last year she became unwell from HIV and was so desperate that she went to the local woreda office (council), where they gave her some food support and referred her to Hospice Ethiopia. After several visits from Hospice Ethiopia’s nurses, she was persuaded to take her anti-retroviral medication, and her condition improved, but she says she feels ashamed of the way she looks (she has lost weight, has thinned hair, and skin nodules) and so has no contact with her family and former friends. She receives financial and food support from Hospice Ethiopia. Her mood remains low as she constantly thinks about all the things she has lost since her husband died. She has contacted the Romanian embassy about receiving her husband’s pension but has been told she does not have the right documentation to claim his pension. She has no contact with her husband’s family in Romania including his older son from a previous marriage.
Kalkidan spent time talking with Berknesh, providing psychological support and encouragement. Long-term financial support from Hospice Ethiopia’s Tewolde Medhane fund is not sustainable. As Berknesh’s disease is now stable on medication, she needs to find employment as her prognosis is good.
Coffee and Conversation at Sue and Jamie’s home
Sue and Jamie held their annual coffee morning in Aldborough to raise funds for the Tewolde Medhane Comfort Fund. They are delighted to have raised £530 – more than in previous years which is a great boost for the fund which supports the poorest of Hospice Ethiopia’s patients.
An evening with General the Lord Dannatt GCB CBE MC DL
Hospice Ethiopia UK is enormously grateful to Richard Dannatt for giving a fascinating talk about Churchill and his role in the D-Day landings of Normandy. Through documents and letters from the Churchill Archives Centre in Cambridge, Richard gave the audience a vivid sense of the huge risks involved in the planning and execution of Operation Overlord, the largest land, sea and air operation ever staged. It proved to be a major turning point in the Second World War.
Thank you also to the enormously supportive audience, who enabled us to raise £1,730 through ticket sales and a raffle to support the work of Hospice Ethiopia.
Patient story: Ayana
Last November our trustees visited Ayana with HE Nurse Kalkidan. She is a 40 year old female patient with HIV and severely reduced mobility due to a presumed toxoplasmosis infection which damaged her nervous system 21 years ago.
She was married to a policeman and has one daughter. Following domestic violence she became divorced and has been bedridden due to her damaged nervous system for the past 21 years. Her sister brought up her daughter. Ayana was referred to Hospice Ethiopia by a Community Volunteer Worker. On the first visit the nurse found Ayana lived alone and was severely depressed and suicidal. Her 24 year old daughter visits her fortnightly to wash her.
Hospice Ethiopia has arranged for Ayana to receive a monthly grant from the Tewolde Medhane fund which allows her to pay for a maid to prepare her food and be a companion to her. She lives in her parent’s house, but her sister wants her to move out so that the house can be sold and the money divided between them. This is a cause of great anxiety to her.
Nurse Kalkidan organised the prescriptions for several medications: Anti-retroviral medication, amitriptyline for neuropathic pain, co-tramoxazole, and Baclofen. Kalkidan also issued some antacid oral liquid as Ayana had a new complaint of abdominal distension and indigestion. Despite being bed-bound for 21 years her skin and nutrition were good. She is continent and her bowels are open daily.
Ayana told Nurse Kalkidan that she felt she was only alive today due to Hospice Ethiopia’s regular visits to her.
Sue delighted to receive MBE
Chair of Hospice Ethiopia UK Sue Mumford has been made an MBE in the New Years Honours list in recognition of her services to palliative care in Ethiopia.
Sue has been involved in the charity since 2012, when a group of health care professionals at Priscilla Bacon Lodge started to support Hospice Ethiopia. She became chair of the group in 2016. Since 2012 Sue has visited Ethiopia thirteen times, most recently in November 2024 when she and her husband, retired doctor Jamie Mumford, helped run a training course in palliative care in the country.
Hospice Ethiopia was originally founded in 2003 by an Ethiopian nurse, Sister Tsigereda, who was saddened at the number of people who were left to die without adequate care in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital. Before that, there was no palliative care in the country, which now has a population in excess of 120 million. Over the years, with help from HEUK, the hospice has looked after thousands of patients, bringing relief to their suffering. Just as importantly, the hospice is a centre of excellence in Ethiopia and beyond, training hundreds of medics who in turn bring relief to thousands of desperate people and their families in Ethiopia and beyond. Support from the UK has been essential in this work, with HEUK raising around £60,000 a year. Trustees claim no expenses for their travel to Ethiopia so that all donations go where they’re really needed.
Sue works work closely with Hospice Ethiopia’s director, Ephrem Abathun, and has monthly calls with him so that HEUK can understand their needs and challenges and share in their successes.
Jill Morgan, one of HEUK’s trustees, says “The word ‘tirelessly’ is sometimes overused, but in Sue’s case it’s an understatement. I don’t think there is ever a time when she’s not either doing something for the charity or figuring out ways to progress its vital work. As well a leading the volunteers in the UK, she is always working at the heart of every fundraising event – everything from giving a talk to washing dishes, she’s there doing it. She thoroughly deserves this honour.”
Sue says “I am deeply honoured to receive this recognition, but this MBE is not just for me – it represents the incredible dedication of everyone at Hospice Ethiopia UK and our partners in Ethiopia. Together, we are ensuring that people with life-limiting illnesses can face their final days with dignity, comfort, and compassion. I hope this honour shines a light on the importance of palliative care and inspires further support for this vital work. I couldn’t have done any of this without fantastic support from my husband, family, trustees, and volunteers.”
The Big Give 2024
Thank you, thank you, thank you! We asked you to help us reach our target of £11,500 in the annual Big Give Christmas Challenge and we exceeded it! With 63 donations, £5,956 was given which means with our matching pot and Gift Aid an amazing £12,655 has been raised. This will enable Hospice Ethiopia to fund an additional nurse and a new Social Worker in 2025, thereby increasing their capacity to care for people approaching the end of their lives. Ephrem, the Director of Hospice Ethiopia said “Wow wow wow…congratulations! Thank you so much and thank you all the donors!”
The Big Give 2024
Many of you have generously made donations in the past that have helped provide care for patients at Hospice Ethiopia. We’re very excited to let you know that Hospice Ethiopia UK has been selected again this year to participate in The Big Give Christmas Challenge 2024, the UK’s largest matched funding campaign.
We hope to raise £11,500 this year to increase Hospice Ethiopia’s capacity to care for more patients as they approach the end of their lives. We hope to raise enough money to fund an additional nurse and a new Social Worker to the team, but we can’t do this without your help.
One donation, twice the impact.
Donations to this project will be matched for 7 days, from 12pm on Tuesday 3rd December – Tuesday 10th December 2024. So, every pound you give during that period means two pounds for Hospice Ethiopia.
Only donations made through the official Big Give website will count for match funding so put the date in your diary now!
Patient story: Kia
Jamie and Sue visited Kia during their recent trip to Addis Adaba. She is a 35 year old female patient with breast cancer. She follows the Muslim faith from which she derives great spiritual support.
She received her diagnosis 4 years ago and following a biopsy she underwent a left mastectomy at the Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital (TASH), and subsequently received 8 cycles of chemotherapy. In June 2024 she developed vaginal bleeding and underwent further surgery for ovarian cancer, along with an endometrial polyp. The ovarian cancer is a probable secondary cancer to the original breast cancer. She has been advised that further chemotherapy will not be beneficial.
She lives with her husband and 3 children aged 9, 8, and 5 in a single room house. Her husband sells fruit and vegetables from a small road-side stall. Her 8 year old daughter has severe life-long disabilities. She is unable to walk, talk, or feed herself so needs round the clock care but does go to a local school for special needs during weekdays. Kia receives a monthly grant from the Tewolde Medhane fund and intermittent food support from Hospice Ethiopia.
She has been prescribed anastrozole (hormone treatment) for her breast cancer, which is giving her menopausal type symptoms. She takes ibuprofen as required for back pain and also Sildenafil for Reynaud disease-type symptoms of her fingers. This medication is usually prescribed for male impotence and we shared some giggles as we suggested keeping it away from her husband!
Despite the very difficult health, family, and financial situation, Kia was cheerful and at peace with herself. She commented she would not be able to cope without the support from the team from Hospice Ethiopia.
Hospice Ethiopia UK 