Challenge for Ethiopia Announced

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COFFEE COMPANIES CHALLENGED TO RAISE $200,000 FOR ETHIOPIA
Public-private initiative to match all funds, potentially raising
$400,000 for cervical cancer prevention in Ethiopia

USA Coffee Companies: You have a unique opportunity to directly give back to the birthplace of coffee. When you donate to Grounds for Health’s cervical cancer prevention programs in Ethiopia, your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in its support for Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon, a public-private partnership focused on reducing deaths from cervical and breast cancer in Latin America and Africa. Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon will double your impact by matching 1:1 every dollar raised up to $200,000. By investing in this initiative, you will be part of the first-ever cervical cancer prevention program to establish services in rural health centers of Ethiopia’s coffee-growing regions.

Preventable Issue

Each year, close to 13,000 Ethiopian women develop cervical cancer, and over 7,000 women die from the disease.[i] Most of these women can be saved by increasing access to early detection and treatment services. While there are clinics in a few city centers, no cervical cancer prevention programs exist at the health center level in Ethiopia’s rural districts, where most coffee is grown.

Opportunity for Change

Grounds for Health, a mission-driven non-profit organization born out of and with enduring ties to the coffee industry, recently launched a cervical cancer prevention campaign in Ethiopia. This program is the first of its kind, providing screening and treatment services to women in rural villages of the Sidama region. Thanks to strong local partners and coffee industry support, the program is poised for success. However, additional funding is needed to take screening and treatment activities to the next level.

Unique Funding Challenge

In a bold initiative, through Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon, the President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) will match dollar-for-dollar funds invested in Grounds for Health Ethiopia by USA coffee companies, up to $200,000.

To add regional and coffee roasting flair, Royal Coffee of California and Dean’s Beans Organic Coffee of Massachusetts have created the East vs. West Roasters Challenge for Cervical Cancer Prevention. This friendly competition pits coffee roasters east and west of the Mississippi against each other to see which side can raise more for Ethiopia. Dean’s Beans and Royal Coffee have both donated $25,000 to Grounds for Health Ethiopia to seed the challenge and show their support.

Roasters who donate to Grounds for Health can take advantage of point of sale and marketing materials, and could be eligible for recognition in donated ad space in media co-sponsors Roast Magazine and the Daily Coffee News. To get involved, visit:
www.groundsforhealth.org/roasters-challenge.

Potential for Change

If the challenge is successful, more than 7,300 rural women will be screened and approximately 550-600 treated for precancerous lesions by the end of 2015. Twelve district health centers will receive training and support for ongoing preventive services, with four centers receiving equipment for treatment services. A mobile unit will also be deployed to ensure screen-and-treat services reach women in the furthest communities. Finally, one rural health center will be outfitted with a reliable long-term water supply for sanitation and high-level disinfection.

This program will go a long way to lay the groundwork for screening and treatment programs across all rural communities of Ethiopia.

Get Involved

To donate, visit: www.groundsforhealth.org/roasters-challenge or contact Development Director Jane Dale: (802) 876-7835.

###

[i] USAID, COMPETE East Africa Trade Hub. Ethiopia Coffee Industry Value Chain Analysis: Profiling the actors, their interactions, costs, constraints and opportunities. Chemonics International Inc. June 18 2010.