In response to the need for global partnerships in education and health, Dublin City University hosted a visit by the president of a new university in Ethiopia on Tuesday 15 December 2009.  Rev. Fr. Tekle Mekonnen is president of the Ethiopian Catholic University of St Thomas Aquinas (ECUSTA), which was recently established to address the problems of poverty and underdevelopment such as illiteracy, low production, unemployment, hunger and disease in Ethiopia.  On the occasion of the visit His Excellency Mr Zerihun Retta Ethiopian Ambassador to Ireland will also be present. 

Internationally, the UN and the World Health Organization emphasise the importance of building global partnerships as a requirement toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals, particularly in relation to education, health, responding to disease and reducing poverty and hunger. 

In Ethiopia, there is a lack of 3rd level educational institutions, which leaves many Ethiopians looking for their education outside the country or left with no further educational options.  This has important implications for the country’s development and health care needs, where despite the strong commitment of the Ethiopian Government to capacity building within the health care and education sector, much remains to be achieved.  The occasion of Fr. Mekonnen’s visit will be used to explore how DCU can support ECUSTA in its growth and development through knowledge, curricula and research activity exchange.  The collaboration between the two universities embraces the principles of the Programme of Strategic Cooperation between Irish Aid and Higher Education and Research Institutes (2007-2011).  In the first of a series of initiatives, Dr Jean Clarke, School of Nursing DCU is driving the development of a leadership programme with St Luke’s College of Nursing and Hospital (ECUSTA), which focuses on life-long learning, nursing knowledge and working with nurses in active health care employment in Ethiopia. The targeting of nursing education and nursing practice as a first step in the collaboration between DCU and ECUSTA is critical, as nurses and midwives, according to the World Health Organization, will lead the way in the achievement of the health Millennium Development Goals.