ABSTRACT

The study of health and disease in Ethiopia constitutes a major challenge for at least several reasons. First, reliable and comprehensive data on the incidence and prevalence of endemic and epidemic diseases and their determinants are scarce, as in other least developed countries. Second, the ecological and cultural diversity of Ethiopia as expressed by distinct geographical and altitudinal disease zones tends to render many generalizations about disease occurrence in this country invalid. The ecology of malnutrition in developing countries has received considerable attention since the pioneering work of Jacques May, and the synergistic relationship between malnutrition and infection is also well recognized. Natural disasters, often predominantly human-caused events so misnamed, are also increasingly affecting the health status of Africans. The ecology of health, defined as the relationship between people, communities, and government and their health resources, is of interest in Ethiopia in view of socio-political developments.