A state-of-the-art liver transplant treatment center is set to be established in Addis Ababa.
This landmark initiative comes as a result of a formal agreement signed between St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College, the Ministry of Health, and the California Pacific Medical Center.
The collaboration aims to jointly establish Ethiopia’s first comprehensive liver transplant program.
The program is spearheaded by Ethiopian-born Dr. Kidist Kidane Yimam, who has been working with colleagues from Northern California to make this vision a reality.
Dr. Kidist has led the initiative with the goal of providing accessible liver transplant services in Ethiopia, marking a major step forward in the nation’s healthcare system.
Historically, St. Paul’s Millennium Medical College Hospital has been offering specialized professional training and material support to build a dedicated medical department capable of handling liver transplants, among other critical healthcare services.
It is important to recall that the World Health Organization (WHO) announced three months ago that Ethiopia is among the African nations with the highest prevalence of hepatitis B and hepatitis C.
These diseases, both of which severely affect the liver, have been a growing public health concern in the Ethiopia.
Dr. Wuletaw Chane, a specialist in liver, pancreas, and gallbladder diseases at St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College, highlighted the results of a national survey showing the widespread nature of hepatitis infections.
According to Dr. Wuletaw, 9.4% of Ethiopia’s population is infected with hepatitis B, while 3.7% are affected by hepatitis C. These figures underscore the urgent need for improved treatment options in the country.
Dr. Wuletaw further noted that among the patients who developed liver scarring, which eventually led to liver cancer, 50% had hepatitis B or C as the underlying cause. The remaining half suffered from liver disease due to other causes.
In Ethiopia, the lack of specialized healthcare infrastructure to provide treatment for liver diseases has forced many patients to seek medical care abroad.
This results in enormous costs, with some patients spending up to 5 million birr for liver transplants overseas.
The new liver transplant center in Addis Ababa is expected to significantly reduce this financial burden, potentially lowering the cost of treatment by up to 2 million birr, according to Dr. Wuletaw.
Dr. Kidist Kidane revealed that she has been working for the past decade to launch a liver transplant program in Ethiopia.
Recently, she returned to Ethiopia with other medical professionals to perform similar treatments and generously donated $35,000 to St. Paul’s Hospital to further support the initiative.
During the World Health Organization’s Liver Disease Summit held in Portugal last May, alarming statistics were shared about the global impact of liver disease.
It was reported that 3,500 people die from liver-related illnesses every day worldwide. Meg Doherty, the head of the HIV, Hepatitis, and Infectious Diseases Program at WHO, emphasized that hepatitis B is responsible for 83% of all liver disease-related deaths globally.
The situation in Africa is particularly concerning, with 63% of the world’s liver disease victims being African citizens.
WHO also reported that 6,000 people are newly affected by liver disease daily, yet the majority do not receive adequate treatment.
Countries like Ethiopia, China, Bangladesh, Nigeria, India, and Indonesia were singled out as hotspots for the spread of liver disease, accounting for 75% of global cases.
