The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia is one of the oldest nations in the world dating from the 10th century BC and with over 75,000,000 inhabitants, Africa’s second-most populous: an extraordinary increase from 33,000,000 in 1983. The 70+ tribal groups speak 84 indigenous languages. The original source of the coffee bean, coffee still remains its largest export commodity along with flowers, plants and livestock.

Ethiopia’s main health problems are said to be communicable diseases caused by poor sanitation and malnutrition, exacerbated by a shortage of trained manpower and health facilities.