Dr. Aynalem – Certainly. As a young graduate assistant in the Demographic Training and Research Center (DTRC) when this work began – a couple of decades ago. I remember my frustrations as a young aspiring teacher over inability to access data or up-to-date analytical reports on Ethiopian population for the ‘Ethiopian population’ chapter of AAU’s “Introduction to Ethiopian geography” course. I decided to do something about it then and came-up with a summary chapter addition on the population of Ethiopia, and distributed copies to the staff of the Geography Department. Twenty years later, I am engaged in the same endeavor but with a 21st century bent. The same subject matter is addressed here with greater detail and a promise of regular changes and constant updates reflecting the latest additions to the knowledge of Ethiopian population – its distribution, composition, and dynamics – and health.
Would it be fair to state that your web site is the first of its kind?
Dr. Aynalem – Obviously, it is the first of its kind in that it is i) apolitical and ii) is not developed by/for any interest group iii) it is dynamic with data and information updated regularly often on a weekly, and even daily, basis. Put simply, it is an online book (regularly updated). It is designed to give a 24 hour access to students of Ethiopia’s population and health, living both in the county and abroad, throughout the year. The site is interactive. Readers can post comments, ask questions, and supply inputs of ideas and data. It also has a section where students of Ethiopian population can find an easy-to-use tools than enable basic calculations of demographic rates without having to know or remember formulas. The formulae are already built into the Excel tables to allow the user to just bring raw data and walk away with results.
What is your background in Demography?
Dr. Aynalem – Sure. The 1982 batch of AAU Geography graduates was rather large because of changes in curriculum from a three-year undergraduate program to a four-year degree requirement which pulled together two cohorts of students from different freshman years. The Geography department sought to retain one individual as a graduate assistant and I was fortunate enough to be that person. As luck would have it, a UN scholarship was already in the works to send four Ethiopians to study abroad and set-up a new Population Studies Center (later named the Demographic Training and Research Center – DTRC). I chose to go to the UK (two trips) and graduated with a degree in Medical Demography in 1991. Unfortunately, I did not make it back to AAU. To remedy the situation somewhat I paid a recent visit to the department, and am hopping to make future trips and offer crash-courses in population studies, referred to as “Block Teaching” in local AAU parlance.
Could you please say a word or two on your research projects, publications and their relevance to Ethiopian demographics and health?
Dr. Aynalem – My current research is entitled “Planned resettlement: A GIS-assisted identification of areas suitable for irrigation-based resettlement in Ethiopia”. GIS – Geographic Information System – refers to the new technological tool that is helping revolutionize geographical site selection as well as other spatial research on temporal and spatial changes in human and physical phenomena. Resettlement in Ethiopia has, so far, focused on “new areas” considered suitable for rain-fed agriculture in hitherto uninhabited sections of various Weredas in Ethiopia. One of the consequences so far, has been the duplication of the environmental damages suffered in the sending areas, at the new sites chosen for resettlement. My research seeks to identify areas along side the proverbial rivers sited in various Ethiopian poems and songs and apply site selection criteria likely to ensure sustainable living with minimal impacts on the physical environment and fewer conflicts between settlers and non-settlers. It also takes into account health risks posed by topical diseases such as malaria. Three quarters of the land area of the county and two-thirds of its population is exposed to such a risk from malaria alone.
Could you please brief us on the content of your Web Site?
Dr. Aynalem –
The web site has the dual mission of introducing to the reader (whether novice or well-versed in Ethiopian studies) the facts of i) its population distribution and dynamics and b) the health of its citizens, and the state of the institutions designed to care for the population, i.e. the state of health care in Ethiopia.
I understand that your Web Site deals with the condition of the population of Ethiopia. Could you please elaborate this?
Dr. Aynalem –
The population section is divided into ten sections including the introductory chapter. Topics covered include population distribution and redistribution, population resettlement and the issues surrounding resettlement. This section traces the history of government-run population redistribution which reached its climax under the Derg regime when millions of people have been resettled by force. The notorious “villagization” debacle orchestrated by the Derg forcibly relocating millions of Ethiopian farmers to new settlements has also been addressed. The next chapter addresses the problems of data quality and details the history of census taking in Ethiopia and the many rounds of sample surveys both of which have formed the core sources of population data over the last half century. The population section, naturally, takes on the facts of population dynamics with a focus on fertility, mortality and migration in Ethiopia over the last 50 years. Among the findings presented in this section are the good news of declining fertility and mortality rates in Ethiopia including childhood mortality rates, and the sad news of uncontrolled migrations in the early years and its attendant consequences – unplanned urbanization and the emergence of slums in big and medium-sized towns as well as deepening urban poverty.
How about the health section?
Dr. Aynalem –
The health section uses the emerging medical geographical approach to investigate what diseases prevail in various parts of Ethiopia and why. It is a spatial approach that explores the underlying cause of the distribution of various diseases in the country. The “why” question takes an exhaustive look at regional differences in physical factors – landforms, precipitation, temperature etc. that determine the presence or absence of malaria, for instance, and a host of socio-economic factors that expose individual Ethiopians to illnesses. Both communicable (infectious) and non-infectious diseases are studied. Among the socio-economic factors of prime importance in the incidence and prevalence of diseases in Ethiopia are agricultural practices, cultural traditions and customs, child rearing practices, female genital cutting, the high divorce rates in the countryside and the out migration of women to join the sex trade in the cities. A non-geographic or topical approach is adopted in the remaining chapters of the health section to highlight the ravages of the HIV/AIDS epidemics in the last 20 years, malaria, tuberculosis, and childhood diseases. A special focus on childhood illnesses unravels the scourge of parasitic diseases and malnutrition that are robbing Ethiopian children of much of their growth potential both mentally and physically. Half of Ethiopian children are malnourished and most are severely stunted. The reader will understand the full extent nutritional deficiencies among children, and hopefully, ponder the implications for the country’s future and, may be, do something about it.
I find your regional population studies quite interesting. Could you please state how the a visitor to your Web Site would benefit from your population studies?
Dr. Aynalem –
The nine primarily rural regions – Afar, Amhara, Benishangul-Gumuz, Gambella, Oromiya, Somali, SNNPR, and Tigray are presented separately in the lower section of the content page. A click on the names of the regional states takes the reader to a wealth of population, geographical and socioeconomic data. The author takes no position regarding the rationale behind ethnic-based administrative divisions. The level of socio-economic detail and demographic information varies regionally based on the level of aggregation of available regional data which is uneven across regions. The regional population geography section is still in development undergoing needed updates to reflect recent changes and to incorporate the recently released census (year 2007) results.
Congratulations on a job well done, Professor Anyalem Adunga. The Ethiopian communities overseas and scholars in Ethiopia will definitely benefit from your ambitious Web Site. I wish you good luck.
