Tenasystillin! This short greeting, the most common one in Ethiopia, is roughly translated as “May God grant you health,” and speaks volumes about the importance of good health and well-being to Ethiopians. However, health in Ethiopia and among its diasporas is better understood in the context of Ethiopia’s history, geography, culture, and other relevant factors. Although a comprehensive discussion of such factors is beyond the scope of this chapter, a brief overview is presented below in the hope that it will give the readers a better understanding of the important health-related successes and challenges faced by Ethiopian immigrants and emigrants.
Background
Ethiopia, formerly known as Abyssinia and now officially called the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is located in a region of northeast Africa (the Horn of Africa). It is a land-locked country that shares its borders with Eritrea, Djibouti, Somaliland, Somalia, Kenya, and Sudan. As of 2009 estimates, Ethiopia’s...
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Singh, B. (2012). Ethiopia. In: Loue, S., Sajatovic, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Immigrant Health. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5659-0_254
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