BY BETELHEM BEDLU
Workeabeba Abebe (MD) was born in Harar City and raised in Addis Ababa. Throughout her primary and secondary education, she was one of the top students of the entire section with outstanding grade and performance.
She is a Pediatrician and the first Pediatric Infectious Diseases sub-specialist at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital (TASH). She, along with her spouse Professor Solomon Tefera, has established Renascent Mental Health and Rehabilitation Center.
She followed her primary and secondary education at Dejazmach Wondirad School. The fact that she was the first child to the family, her parents expected of her highly and was considered as a role model by five of her siblings. Her father especially used to say to her that she was going to be a doctor and would marry a doctor.
With this in mind, Prof. Workabeba scored higher marks on both 8th and 12thnational exams and made her parents as well as school proud of her. Growing up, she was a fan of football and whenever there is Africa and world cup, she used to be very happy and watch the game eagerly.
During that time, a student who had great score used to be assigned to learn medicine. Thus, she was assigned to follow medical field in Jimma University. “Being a doctor was not an option, it was mandatory as I grew up listening to my family that I was going to be a doctor someday. I don’t know what I would be if I wasn’t going to be a doctor, but now, I feel like I made the right decision.”
However, when she was readying to go to the university, her father got ill and her mother had to take care of the other siblings. That leaves Workabeba to go to Jimma on her own. Though all of her friends went to the university accompanied by their parents, she had to go alone to the area where she was not before but she was strong enough to see her future and not to get disturbed by the incident.
“Leaving my family was not easy but I had no other option. However, the exposure helped me understand more about life, dependency and my country.”
She was eager about joining university, yet the first year, she found it hard to make new friends as well as get comfortable with the school compound and the city. Similarly, her father passed away on that year. Fortunately, she was destined to meet with someone that made her the happiest person to this day.
When she join second year, she was becoming fond of the compound, her class and everything around her. Nothing actually changed except that she met with the love of her life. Professor Solomon was her senior and their relationship got deeper as she was searching for someone who could she study with.
Though she had lived with a principle that woman has to stay focus on her education until she is on her own, she couldn’t stop herself from engaging in a relationship with her boyfriend.
Medicine is believed to be somewhat difficult in second year. But, it was fortunate that he was her senior as he helped her with studies and many other important issues. Though relationship distract from education, it would sometimes be a blessing if it is managed well, as to her.
When Professor Solomon graduated, she was on duty training which sooner or later might separate them. So, he suggested that they get married aiming to be assigned in similar area or help them met regularly.
Then, they decided and got married. No one knew that she was in relationship so having to ask her parents that she was getting married out of the blue was hard but the fact that her mother was from Harar, she wasn’t conservative kind of woman though she told them they wouldn’t get her blessing unless they get married in the normal way after she graduated. And she told them to decide what’s best for both of them.
The relationship that started around 27 years ago has now turned in to 22 years of marriage with two children. Throughout this year, she did not only become the mother of two but she got her professorship.
After her first degree, she was assigned and worked in Butajera Town for about four years. And, when she had her first baby, she returned and studied Pediatrics and Child Health, in College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University (AAU) in which she later on became staff of the university.
“Taking care of a child by itself is engaging let alone having another task like education. But, it is not an attainable if one put its mind to it. Besides, I had my husband’s full support along the way. The point is if a woman wants to become successful in what she does, she needs to be committed enough to pass the difficulties.”
She went on saying: “I tried to balance my work and life so I used to accomplish all of my tasks at my office or after my child go to sleep as I needed to give time for my family.”
Women can achieve what they want through commitment and hard work. Thus she never stopped her career there satisfied by what she has already achieved. That is why she extended her education and became the first Pediatric Infectious Diseases sub-specialist at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital. She has also taken other supportive courses in Canada and USA including here in Ethiopia to advance her subspecialty in the area.
Prof. Workeabeba and her spouse had a desire to contribute their part to their country. After conducting some research, they decided to work on addiction which is the cause of death for many youth; separation of families and economic crises to the nation.
The idea which was conceived at Zewditu Hospital has now turned in to huge rehabilitation center. Unfortunately, building the center was not an easy task; rather compelled them to change the house that they planned to live into a center. They agreed and did as they wish. That is how Renascent Mental Health and Rehabilitation Center come to fruition.
‘Seeing youths, who had once been struggling with addiction and their families getting some type of relief after medication, fills my heart with happiness. And I always say that it was the rightest decision we made,” she underscored.
As it is stated in her profile, Prof. Workeabeba, during her journey, has served as a chair of the postgraduate program and; later vice-chair person of the Pediatric and Child Health Department.
Besides offering clinical teaching, providing mentorship and supervision of diverse groups of students, she supervised research projects of several residents.
Her research interests focus on childhood infectious diseases, mainly pediatric HIV, hospital epidemiology, antimicrobial resistance, and antimicrobial stewardship. She has currently published over 45 peer-reviewed research articles in reputable journals.
She is a fellow of the Young Academy of Sciences at the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences. She has been appointed as visiting scientist at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health in 2018. She is a member of the Editorial Boards of Ethiopian Journal Pediatric and Child Health and Ethiopian Medical Journal and Executive Committee (EC) member of the Society of Ethiopian Women in Science and Technology (SWiST). She is also a member of technical and advisory groups for pediatric ART at the Federal Ministry of Health, a National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (NITAG), and an EC member for the National Certificate Committee (NCC) Polio free status of Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian Herald June 1/2023
