For Immediate Release
Dec 02, 2019, Toronto, Ontario – Ethiopian Airlines Canada is pleased to announce its ongoing support for SickKids Foundation in Toronto, ON, with over $50,000 in donated flights since 2017.
Over the past two years, an incredible $50,000 worth of donated flights has supported the Centre for Global Child Health’s capacity-building projects in sub-Saharan Africa and the International Patient Program, both at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto. The International Patient Program is funded in part by The Herbie Fund, which helps children around the world receive life-saving surgery and treatment at SickKids.
“We are grateful to Ethiopian Airlines Canada for their continued commitment to improving child health,” says Wendy Dempsey, Associate Director, Cause Marketing, SickKids Foundation. “The tickets they generously provide allow us to continue to make a difference to patients and families around the world.”
“We are extremely proud to support SickKids towards these important initiatives. We know with the flights Ethiopian Airlines donates, it allows for funding to go towards much-needed support in providing world-class care and educational training in the most remote areas in Africa,” said Samson Arega. “We value our partnership and the contribution we can make, and it reflects our airlines’ spirit of giving back towards positive changes.”
How the donated flights help
Each year, Ethiopian Airlines Canada provides 24 round trip tickets, valued at $25,000. Using flights donated by Ethiopian Airlines Canada, the Centre for Global Child Health team members flew to Ethiopia, Mali and Ghana to assess, plan and deliver important newborn and child health programs in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
In Ethiopia, the Centre is delivering a specialized newborn care education training for health workers caring for small and sick newborns in remote areas. Since the first visit in 2017, the team has delivered training to 70 local health workers including health officers, nurses and midwives on newborn care practices to improve the quality of care for newborns and their families in underserved districts in Afar region, Ethiopia.
In Mali, through the Centre’s International Program Evaluation Unit (IPE), the team is continuing to work to strengthen maternal, newborn and child health in Mali’s Koulikoro and Sikasso regions.
In Ghana, the SickKids-Ghana Paediatric Nursing Education Partnership (PNEP) is a five-year program that aims to contribute to reducing preventable deaths and improving the wellbeing of newborns and children in Ghana, and advance both child health and the profession of nursing in Ghana through practice-focused pediatric nursing education. To-date, 330 nurses have already graduated from the program and are working across all 10 regions of Ghana. The goal of PNEP is to train 500 pediatric nurses and 1,000 additional health workers through continuing education by 2020, with the support of Global Affairs Canada and SickKids Foundation.
Photo: (left to right) Samson Arega Ethiopian Airlines Canada Country Manager, Laura Lewis-Watts, Program Manager, Centre for Global Child Health, Wendy Dempsey Associate Director SickKids Cause Marketing, Stephanie De Young, Interprofessional Educator, Centre for Global Child Health, David Timmins, Ethiopian Airlines Canada National Sales Manager
About Ethiopian Airlines
Ethiopian operates the youngest and most modern fleet to more than 125 international passenger and cargo destinations across five continents. The Ethiopian fleet includes ultra-modern and environmentally friendly aircraft, such as Airbus A350, Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Boeing 777-300ER, Boeing 777-200LR, Boeing 777-200 Freighter, and Bombardier Q-400 double cabin. The average age of the aircraft is five years. Ethiopian is the first airline in Africa to own and operate these aircraft.
Ethiopian Airlines flies direct from Toronto to Addis Ababa five times weekly. This route will now be serviced with our Airbus 350. Ethiopian Airlines is the largest airline in Africa, with one of the youngest fleets in the world. Ethiopian Airlines, a Star Alliance member, is currently the only African operator of the Airbus.
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