Staff Spotlight: Ashenafi Argata

Ashenafi Argata has been our Ethiopia Country Director since 2014. Prior to joining our team, he has 28 years of technical and managerial experience in the Ministry of Health of Ethiopia. His previous experience includes heath center staff nurse, health center technical coordinator, head of a district health office, program coordinator for zonal health department and tropical diseases consultant for WHO.

Ashenafi is committed to working with the rural communities and believes that they are the primary change agents for any health intervention. This year has been an exciting one for him and the rest of our staff, as we introduced HPV self-testing as a new screening method. Ellen Starr, our Executive Director, interviewed Ashe this week to share insight from the field.

E: What excites you most about working at Grounds for Health?

A: Despite the pandemic limitations we have already screened more than 20,000 women this year. We tried to reach even more than that, but there are security concerns right now in our country.

When I started, we worked with 4 health centers and now we have reached 47. That makes me more and more excited working with Grounds for Health. Our team is very good and we work together like a family. We do this work for the sake of the women in our lives, for our mothers and daughters. 

E: You previous work was more policy-focused. Are you enjoying being back in the clinical environment? Why?

A: I am doing both simultaneously, I am improving clinical work – especially screening and treating women …and I’m trying to do more communication with the different sectors. My favorite part is seeing more women and treating them…coordinating the clinical part, educating, counseling and making sure, in this new program, that women aren’t lost in the follow-up. I love being part of the early screening process…this saves a woman from pain and her family from losing her. The feedback I get in my community is very rewarding.

E:  Tell us about HPV self-testing implementation. How has it changed your day-to-day?

A: Yes yes, I have been much involved in the implementation of HPV testing. We can’t reach as many women in the community when we are doing only VIA…now that we are shifting our mind to HPV test we will reach more women in terms of coverage and quality. This new technology has given me more excitement to work. 

E: Share a memorable experience working with women in your community. 

A: There was a woman positive for pre-cancer and refused to come for treatment at a Health Center in Wonsho District. I walked on foot for a long distance because there was no transport access. I reached her husband and counseled him on cervical cancer. I then went around the village for support… I educated the religious and community leaders and they had an idea on how to get the woman to treatment. After talking to the leaders, she agreed to come to the health center and was treated with cryotherapy. She said her biggest concern was the pain. In the end, she was happy with her experience.

Note: Woman in rural Ethiopia, where we work, are often hesitant to seek medical treatment post-screening. It is not unusual for our staff to become involved in situations like this and reach out to the community for support. This is a considerable part of their workload—counseling, treatment and follow-up. Ashenafi has spoken time and time again how this is the most satisfying part of his job.

E: Thank you for sharing that story. Is there anything else you’d like to say to our readers?

A: I want to say something about our donors. Thank you sending your money to our community. We are working for the women and their health. I am also asking you to send more money if you are able, so we can reach more women this year with HPV testing. 

If you’d like to dive deeper on the success of HPV self-testing in low-resource settings, read this article from the World Health Organization.