IFA has continued its efforts to upgrade our office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Recently, a new shipment arrived with office equipment and a transportation vehicle, which will greatly advance our own efforts in the region.

IFA has donated several essential pieces of equipment to the Yekatit 12 neonatology department in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, over the past few years. IFA continues their commitment to helping the lives of struggling newborns by donating an additional incubator and an infant warmer machine to the unit in March 2013. These donations have been critical to the survival of young babies born in Ethiopia.

On January 16, 2013, Dr. Anteneh Roba was featured on the Dr. Don radio show, which broadcasts from Bullhead City, Arizona. Dr. Don Wagner's show, which frequently discusses the benefits of a plant-based diet, welcomed Dr. Roba to speak about the role of "Companion Animals" in human lives.

IFA President Anteneh Roba recently penned an article for Animal Citizen, a quarterly magazine published by the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) that highlights IFA's efforts in Africa. As the organization that has led the animal welfare movement in India for 50 years, AWBI became interested in IFA's work and achievements in Ethiopia.

The people and nations of Africa face many challenges brought about by severe poverty. Today, roughly half of Africans live in absolute poverty. Despite once having been a net exporter of food, the continent has become a net importer as the number of undernourished people in Africa has risen to 200 million. Africa is the only continent where poverty is expected to increase in the next decade.

International Fund for Africa (IFA), in conjunction with the Addis Ababa Health Bureau, has undertaken to upgrade the city's neonatal hospital services to provide more much-needed care. IFA's initial efforts have recently provided new equipment and supplies to Yekatit 12 Hospital and Gandhi Memorial Hospital.

IFA is working with non-governmental organizations and local governments in Ethiopia on finding ways to spay and neuter homeless dogs in and around the cities of Addis Ababa and Jimma a city located in south western Ethiopia; provide vaccinations for rabies, parvovirus, and other diseases; educate the public on how to better care for dogs; and promote foster care and adoption programs.

The International Fund for Africa (IFA) is actively engaged in promoting compassion for animals in Ethiopia by helping to establish small-animal curricula at Ethiopian Veterinary Schools. We are also working to support, in collaboration with other Ethiopian and International animal protection societies, the creation of the country’s first-ever animal welfare law.

Africa the world's second largest continent with a population of approximately one billion, is the world's poorest and most under developed continent. One–third of its population are malnourished; half live on $1 per day, and 80% live on less that $2 per day.