The tragic life of Amharas under the rule of the TPLF created Manchurian called ANDM or ብአዴን in Tigrigna! (Achamyeleh Tamiru)

The TPLF regime has officially published the 2017's USAID-funded Ethiopia's Demographic and Health Survey report that has been presented at an international conference held in Rockville, Maryland USA in July 2017.

The searchable public survey report is entitled "ETHIOPIA; Demographic and Health Survey, Central Statistical Agency Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, The DHS Program ICF" and it can be saved to a file.

The report is full of disturbing figures specially for the Amaras. Here is my summary and analysis of the most important facts of the report.

1. Family planning (Page 17): Contraceptive use is the highest in what is called Amara region next to Addis Ababa. In “Amara region”, women use of family planning (47%) is higher than the national average, which is 35%. Family planning may have many reasons but the desire to depopulate the Amaras by the weyyane , and the economic marginalization (and discrimination) are among the main factors for the Amaras not to have children.

2. Early Childhood Mortality (Page 21): According to the public health literature, this is a yardsticks mostly used to measure individual and national socioeconomic status. The report doesn’t include regional disaggregated comparisons.

I assume the regional disaggregation of this data has been dropped purposely). It has been reported that Ethiopia achieved the MDG on child mortality. However, the major challenge or question directed to then Minister of Health, Tewodros Adhanom, when he reported the same report to the weyyane parliament in 2013/14 was regional imbalance in early child mortality.

Though Tewodros reported that Ethiopia has achieved child mortality reduction as per the MDG goals, there are/ were still regions of Ethiopia that fall behind the specific child mortality reduction goal of the MDG. You may compare this in the case of diarrhea section presented under Children with diarrhea.

3. Antenatal Care (Page 24): This is health care seeking by pregnant mothers. It depends on the following factors; Physical availability of health facilities, availability of qualified health worker, financial capacity of the women, access to information, transportation and roads and some other factors.

And when we compare the Antenatal Care figure of the national average (67%) with that of the Amaras (62.4%), it is far below than the national average. In here, the surprising figure is that of Tigray and it is 90%, above all other regions including Dire Dawa (consider that Dire Dawa is a city administration) except Addis Ababa.

4. Child Vaccination (Page 28): In all of the three vaccines, viz BCG, Penta3 and Polio 3, Amara is slightly above the national average whereas others regions and Addis Ababa, Dire Dawa and Tigray achieved a required coverage level of vaccination as per the international (WHO and UNICEF) standard.

5. Children with diarrhea (Page 29): A child with diarrhea shall get treatment with ORS and zinc supplement. Zinc is an important mineral for cell growth and restoration of body metabolism. The number of children who suffered from diarrhea in Amara are much higher than those in Tigray but, only 15% received ORS with zinc while in Tigray it is 30% even above Addis ababa.

6. Child malnutrition (Page31): Under this category no region is ever affected as that of the Amara; the highest off all the regions. 65.9% of children under the age of five in what is called Amara region are either severely or moderately malnourished (the national average is 46%).

N.B. 1. Childhood nutrition is an important socio-economic factor (for an individual, the family and a nation) in dealing with welfare.

Individually a child who is under nourished is suffered from the following problems (diarrhea (check the diarrhea above), frequent illness of various types, poor mental development and low performance in school, psychological problems, also when they become adults they will suffer from diabetes, heart disease and may be cancer.

It also greatly causes a family economic loss due to healthcare cost for the children, depression and total dissatisfaction on their life and their children’s life.

N.B.2. The summarized figures (including the paradox that he same population that has relatively better awareness and access to family planning found to have the lowest antenatal care, and the highest child malnutrition) qualify to be the textbook example of genocide.

Civil organization and concerned parties must call upon and invite independent bodies to investigate the matter.

From the above presented disturbing figures alone, you can imagine how the Amaras are suffering under the weyyane created Manchurian called ANDM and its tyrannical rule as an ethnic group because of who they are.

Over the past few years when I was reviewing the national nutrition program, I was surprised to come across with a national nutrition feeding program initiated in most regions but in what is called Amara region.

The above mentioned disturbing figures are among the least unique material foundations explaining why the Amharas are organizing themselves as Amharas and their unique struggle is a resistance to genocide, occupation, oppression, killing, and disenfranchisement.

That is why we have been saying there is no way going back in the struggle, by organizing ourselves as Amharas, if the Amhara has to exist and continue to exist as part of a social unit of Ethiopia!