President Park Geun-hye (center) and Ethiopian President Mulatu Teshome speak with Korean medical staff during the launch ceremony for Korea Aid at Addis Ababa University on May 28.
Korea’s new developmental aid program, Korea Aid, officially launched in Ethiopia on May 28.
President Park Geun-hye, on a state visit to the East African nation, formally started the program at a ceremony held in Nelson Mandela Hall at Addis Ababa University. During the event, the president stressed the importance of field services that prioritize the beneficiaries and which utilize a broad range of healthcare, food relief and media services so that they complement each other across the larger scheme of the program. She also emphasized the need for active assessment and evaluation.
The day's event was attended by Ethiopian President Mulatu Teshome, several government dignitaries, and some 150 local residents.
Korea Aid is a developmental aid program that provides healthcare and food relief, as well as Korean media and content, to remote communities that lack access to medical services. The main focus of the program is healthcare. The medical service vehicles provide gynecological examinations, pediatric care for children and general checkups. Vaccinations and prescription drugs are also available.
Meanwhile, the food service trucks will serve Korean and local dishes to the local residents, focusing on health and nutritional value. The multimedia trucks, equipped with a large screens and speakers, will provide a venue for health educational sessions and video screenings that showcase Korean traditions, K-pop and other media.
President Park Geun-hye, accompanied by Ethiopian dignitaries, speaks to a group of students during the launch of Korea Aid at Addis Ababa University on May 28.
Korea Aid's team of medical professionals includes nine doctors from the Ewha Woman’s University Medical Center and Seoul National University Hospital, as well as 11 doctors from St. Paul’s Hospital in Ethiopia.
Korea Aid, launching in Addis Ababa, will move to the city of Adama on May 30. There, with 1,600 local residents in attendance, a second launch ceremony will be held. Following in the footsteps of the president, the program will also kick off in Uganda and Kenya, the next two countries on the presidential itinerary.
Finally, Cheong Wa Dae said that, “It is very meaningful that Korea Aid has made its official launch in Ethiopia, one of our major developmental partners and headquarters to the African Union. We believe that with Ethiopia as its base, Korea Aid will be able to expand and spread its positive influence to neighboring African states in the future.”
By Yoon Sojung, Lee Hana
Korea.net Staff Writers
Photos: Jeon Han, Korea.net Staff Photographer
arete@korea.kr
Korean medical staff distribute rice snacks to young Ethiopians at the launch of Korea Aid, the government's new developmental aid program, at Addis Ababa University on May 28.
People sample some of the Korean rice snacks on offer from a Korea Aid food relief truck during the launch ceremony for Korea Aid at Addis Ababa University on May 28.
