ABOUT IFA

International Fund for Africa | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

IFA is committed to ensuring the well-being of women and children in Ethiopia, especially the vulnerable who have limited access to a quality health and medical care, and other essential services such as education and adequate nutrition. We focus on maternal and child health development by strengthening the health care system, building local capacity, supplying much needed technology and implementing evidence-based interventions. We collaborate with communities, partners and key stakeholders to bring about sustainable change and resilience on all of our projects.

International Fund for Africa
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

IFA VISION

To build a world
where the well being
of every woman and child
is a reality.

IFA MISSION

To work towards ensuring that every child in Ethiopia has the chance to grow and realize his/her full potential. By saving lives at birth, strengthening the healthcare and educational systems and working in partnership with families, communities, institutions, government and non-governmental organisations, IFA seeks to help people help themselves with evidenced-based projects aimed at sustainability.

OUR PRINCIPLES

Capacity Development

We believe capacity building is the process of strengthening the ability of the individual, communities and institutions to make effective use of resources, in order to achieve their own goals on a sustainable basis.

Gender Empowerment & Equality

We believe empowering women and involving them in the decision making process are key to raising overall economic productivity and health related outcomes.

Evidence Based Practice

We believe in designing projects that align with evidence based practices that are research driven to ensure better effectiveness, and greater accountability.

Collaboration

We believe when it comes to delivering sustainable change in any community or institution there is no “them”, just “us”. Multi-sectoral partnerships between communities, public, private and non-government organisations are paramount to realizing shared goals.

Holism

We believe inclusive growth in any society can only be fully realized if the goal pertains to the whole rather than piecemeal development.

Sustainability

We believe in cultivating self-sufficiency, social responsibility and stewardship of resource, by engaging all stakeholders to deliver sustainable development.

MEET OUR BOARD

Dr. Anteneh Roba, MD
IFA Co-Founder
President & Board Member

Currently a part-time certified emergency-room physician since 1988. My first initiation in to the world of compassion and suffering started in 2003 when I returned to my motherland, Ethiopia. There, I saw babies dying of diseases that were treatable and preventable. I saw animals being needlessly tortured, as they are elsewhere. I saw homeless little children sleeping on concrete. When I returned to the United States, I realized what my mission was in life, and the idea of the International Fund for Africa was born, in memory of my mother, Amsale Gessesse who died in 1961.

My extra-professional activities include promoting a vegan diet, working with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and animal protection.

Seble Nebiyeloul M.H.A.
IFA Co-Founder
Country Director

Coming from a Third World country, I am sensitive to the plight of poor people. My concern over high child mortality rates and the burden of disease due to preventable causes led me to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in Allied Health with a minor in psychology and then a Master of Science degree in Healthcare Administration.

I am a true believer that one is never given a dream without also being given the power to make it come true. I am committed to bringing about the change I want to see by using my leadership skills to improve and develop equitable, effective strategies that address complex and interrelated health care issues in Africa. I am dedicated to alleviating the suffering of humans and animals. Read Seble’s Full Biography

Melanie Blake
IFA Board Member
.

As an immigrant from South Africa, I have experienced my own hardships in life and know what it is like to lack basic necessities. Therefore I am very much aware that one person or organization can change a person’s life forever.

My goal in life is to make a difference and spread compassion around the world for humans and animals alike. Therefore I am currently working on a project that will instill these ideas in young children and make them more aware of the world around them.

Anuj A. Shah, Ph.D
IFA Board Member
.

From a very early age, I have been interested in social justice movements and other organized efforts to remedy suffering and injustice against the oppressed, including the suffering of animals. My experience has shown me how desperate is the plight of many of my fellow human beings, so I am glad to have the opportunity to serve as a board member for IFA as it finds new pathways to justice for impoverished people and abused animals.

Since 2002, I’ve practiced in several areas of law and have taken special interest in civil rights, immigration, and animal law. While in law school, I received the national Warren J. Ferguson Social Justice Essay Prize. I was also a scholar in residence at the international East-West Center in Honolulu, where I completed my doctorate in philosophy with a concentration in comparative philosophy, especially Indian versus Western thought.

Sefanit Fassil
IFA Board Member
.

I grew up in Ethiopia and immigrated to the United States of America where I finished my training as a pediatrician at the University of North Carolina. I live with my husband and our three young children in Bowie, Maryland. While working in Annapolis, Maryland, I became a child medical examiner and child advocate for Anne Arundel County, serving abused children.

Being able to share my expertise and extend my compassionate nature and respect for life further by working with the International Fund for Africa pleases me immensely.

Tesfaye Mekonnen, M.D
Honorary Board Member
.

From the time I studied medicine at the Higher Institute of Medical Science in, Cuba, I thought only of dedicating myself to improving medical care in places which are in dire need of improvements. I obtained my medical degree in 1988, and specialized in anesthesiologist in 1996.

In 2003, I joined WHO supporting the Ethiopian national violence and injury prevention program, and in 2004, I joined the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS), which prepares health care and allied health professionals for public practice to assume key epidemiological and administrative roles in communities.

I currently work in Atlanta, providing support for emergency & disaster medicine development in Ethiopia. Living with my wife and three young children reminds me every day how important it is for every human being to have the chance for a happy and rewarding life. I am glad IFA shares my concern for the people of Africa.

ABOUT IFA

International Fund for Africa | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia