ETHIOPIA2050 COVID Response
No one intervention alone is sufficient to stop the spread of COVID-19. Winning the COVID-19 war requires a coordinated and integrated interventions.
In a country with limited access to clean water, information, adequate health systems, mass poverty, and with an inability to socially distance, the ETHIOPIA2050 team believes that community masking will make a large impact in preventing the spread of the deadly virus in Ethiopia. While there are groups working on (1) getting PPE to frontline health workers, (2) improving sanitation and access to water, and (3) increasing the capabilities of health workers and hospitals, community masking can help to limit the spread of the disease. The CDC recommends cloth face coverings [1], and the WHO’s latest guidance maintains that “masks could help limit the spread of the disease” in conjunction with other measures [2].
The widespread use of cloth masks can limit transmission from infected people to healthy individuals in shared living spaces, service delivery areas, and workplaces. Masks can be produced locally at a reasonable cost in a short time. The use of mask alerts others to take action and now it has become compulsory under the recently declared “State-of-Emergency” decree in Ethiopia.
Fundraising Goal
The ETHIOPIA 2050 team aims to raise 1 million Ethiopian Birr to purchase and donate 35,000 locally made masks that will be donated to the needy in Ethiopia.
What Does Your Donation Support Efforts in Ethiopia?
How will the money get to manufacturers in Ethiopia?
- The ETHIOPIA2050 Team will use the money collected to directly purchase of masks from manufacturers in Ethiopia. Your donation will not only help mask a member of the community, but you will be supporting the job of a local worker in Ethiopia.
Who is making the masks?
- The ETHIOPIA2050 Team is working with local cloth makers in Ethiopia to create and distribute masks that are made from sustainable fabrics and reusable.
How will the masks be distributed?
- The ETHIOPIA2050 team will work with food banks in Addis Ababa to distribute the masks one community at a time in the hopes of masking all Ethiopians, starting with one or more of the most vulnerable groups (e.g., high risk of exposure, those who live in the most densely populated areas, those with no or very little income, etc).
How to Donate
A. Donors in US
Venmo – @Ethiopia2050 (phone number: 760-402-7162)
Paypal – paypal.me/samkass
Zelle, Direct deposits & wire transfer, please use the following:
Bank Name: Wells Fargo; Account Number: 2870759509;
Routing Number (Direct Deposits): 121042882; Routing Number (Wire Transfer): 121000248, Associated Phone: 760 402 7162
Personal Checks
Personal checks should be made out to: ETHIOPIA 2050 (Memo: Sam Kassegne)
Please mail personal checks to:
Sam Kassegne, PhD
7140 Tanager Drive.,
Carlsbad, CA 92011
B. Donors in Canada
e-Transfer (ePayments)
gabriel_seifu@hotmail.com (Ethiopia 2050 Covid response)
Direct deposits & wire transfer
Gabriel Seifu (Ethiopia 2050 Covid response)
Bank Name: TD Bank; Account Number: 6629934;
Transit Number: 03546; Institution Number: 004
C. Donors in Ethiopia
Separate bank account information will be posted shortly by the Addis Ababa Team. However, we will accept pledges directly.
Current Status of COVID-19 in Ethiopia
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/ethiopia/
Dr. Aynalem Adugna’s Dashboard – Region by Region information (excellent resource).
Current Response to the Pandemic in Ethiopia
Ethiopia faces several challenges when gearing up to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Luckily, there has been a swift and sustained response by the Ethiopian Government including a mandatory quarantine of all those flying into the country, an educational message about the virus every time you place a call, the setup of a 1,000 bed makeshift hospital inside Addis Ababa Millennium Hall by the Ministry of Health and the partnership with the Jack Ma Foundation to help distribute coronavirus testing kits, masks, face shields, and protective suits inside the country and to the 54 countries on the continent. But there is a lot more to do to protect the country from seeing a devastating surge.
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[1] We now know from recent studies that a significant portion of individuals with coronavirus lack symptoms (“asymptomatic”) and that even those who eventually develop symptoms (“pre-symptomatic”) can transmit the virus to others before showing symptoms. This means that the virus can spread between people interacting in close proximity—for example, speaking, coughing, or sneezing—even if those people are not exhibiting symptoms. In light of this new evidence, CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies) especially in areas of significant community-based transmission. Recommendation Regarding the Use of Cloth Face Coverings, Especially in Areas of Significant Community-Based Transmission https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/cloth-face-cover.html
[2] Advice on the use of masks in the context of COVID-19, World Health Organization, Interim guidance, Issued 6 April 2020. https://www.who.int/publications-detail/advice-on-the-use-of-masks-in-the-community-during-home-care-and-in-healthcare-settings-in-the-context-of-the-novel-coronavirus-(2019-ncov)-outbreak