1e uitgave 2011 Not only academic but also lots of fun Three Months in Maastricht BY ARAYA A MEDHANYIE, ETHIOPIAN PHD STUDENT From December 2010 till March 2011, I stayed at the department of General Practice in Maastricht. I would like to tell you something about my PhD and my stay in Maastricht. My PhD I am a PhD candidate from Ethiopia. I am doing my PhD under a joint program between the universities of Alcala de Henares, Spain and Maastricht. My research is on integration of mHealth (mobile phone health applications) and maternal health services at primary health care settings in Ethiopia. Prior to the start of my PhD study I have been working as a lecturer in the department of public health of Mekelle University in Ethiopia. My home country Ethiopia Ethiopia is an open museum. It is a country of a population of 80 million where Christians and Muslims live in harmony. Ethiopia is one of the origins of human kind. It is a country of high mountains. Yet the Danakil gorge, part of the Great Rift Valley, the lowest point in Africa is also found in this beautiful country. Dallol is also part of the valley, one of the hottest places year-round anywhere on earth. The obelisks and amazing churches in the holiest cities of Axum and Lalibela are destinations you must see, among others. I think you should never miss the opportunity to visit Ethiopia during your life. In my opinion, the past two decades have been full of success stories for the country. Universities, hydropower dams, roads, health facilities, schools and so on have been built and expanded throughout the country. Yet the problems of the country are still multifaceted and numerous. Ethiopians and all those who love Ethiopia have to put in a lot of effort to make the prevailing poverty in the country history. Many of the health status indicators of the Ethiopian population have shown improvement. Maternal and infant mortality have shown a decline. The number of health facilities has increased. Training and graduation of health professionals have dramatically accelerated. Health services have come closer and closer to the people at the grass root level. But these promising changes are not yet enough. People in Ethiopia are still dying of easily preventable infectious diseases. Mothers are losing their life as a result of pregnancy and pregnancy related complications. The ratio of the number of physicians and midwifes compared to the population fails to meet the international standards. Ensuring quality of health services remains a headache of all stakeholders who are involved in the provision of health services. My stay in Maastricht My stay in Maastricht was not only academic but also has been a lot of fun. I got the opportunity to meet new people and visit new places. I visited places in Maastricht and Amsterdam. I enjoyed the warm friendship of Dutch people. The warm caring and affection of my colleagues was unique. I learned a lot from them. Above all, I am really impressed with the working culture in the department. I really appreciate their hardworking and effective time management. I have witnessed that the school is a favorable environment for study. With all the carnival flags in Maastricht, I feel like at home because the colors green, yellow and red are the same colors as our national flag. It will be heartache for me not to mention Mark Spigt (PhD), one of my PhD promoters who made my stay in Maastricht unforgettable. No words to express my gratitude for his friendly affection and all rounded mentor-ship. When I think I am left with only few days to leave Maastricht, mixed feelings of joy and sadness fill my soul. I feel happy going back home, to Ethiopia. On the other hand I feel sad when I think of going far away from all the nice colleagues at CAPRHI and the beautiful city of Maastricht. To make it simple confused feelings flourish my soul. The good thing is I greatly hope I will come back again to Maastricht. I wish you peace and love! For further details about Ethiopia and PhD study, I can be reached at arayaabrha@yahoo.com 27 op één lijn 39
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