EDITORIAL

Ethiopian Radiology

Steve Beninl!field
MBChB(UCr;, FFRac!(6jSA

Head: Department of Radiology,
University of Cape Town

Earlier this year I was fortunate enough to be invited to Addis Ababa (which
means "New Flower", founded 1887) in Ethiopia for a week. Not only was this a

great opportunity to learn more about this country's fascinating historical and
religious background, especially its connections to the Middle East, but it also
gave me the chance to see for myself the state of Radiology in another African
country.

Ethiopia (formerly Abyssinia) has had a prominent role throughout African
and world history, including delivering early mankind in the form of "Lucy"
(Australopithecus afarensis - 2 million years old) in 1974, and giving rise to that
other vital ingredient of any Radiology practice - coffee] Strongly reminiscent of
the midlands of Natal with green rolling hills, their use of the unconventional
Julian calendar (12 months of 30 days and the balance of 5 or 6 days in a 13th
month) gives rise to their advertising slogan - "The only country with thirteen
months of sunshine".

There are three medical schools in the country, including in Addis Ababa.
These schools are modelled on the American system, with associate professors
appointed early in their careers. Concerning Radiology, at the time of my visit
there were no functioning CT scanners, MRI scanners, angiography tables or nu-
clear medicine cameras in this country of 60 million people. There had been a
single refurbished CT machine in one of the state hospitals in 1997, but it had
since broken down and could not easily be repaired. Much the same applied to
other equipment) with a number of obsolete screening tables and mobile units in
evidence. Chemicals for automatic processors are not available, and wet film
processing is the rule. I was able to speak with colleagues from other African
states, and heard that their diagnostic imaging services face similar problems. The

major Radiological centres in Africa at present are perceived to be Egypt, South
Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Zimbabwe.

On the positive side, plans are afoot to develop a major new private diagnostic
imaging unit in Addis Ababa, with significant South African involvement. From
the state hospital perspective, sponsors appear to play an important role in equip-
ment provision, and Ethiopia as a prominent African country has the capacity to
draw their support. Despite the hardships, the overall mood and the quality of
Radiology in my host department (Black Lion Hospital, Department of Radio-
logy, University of Addis Ababa) were very good. I left Ethiopia feeling humbled,
but also grateful for our relative fortune, even in state hospitals.

3 SAJOURNAL OF RADIOLOGY· August 1998