SCOPE Fellows ADVANCE PARTNERSHIPS & Mental health work

In 2025, SCOPE Fellows played a key role in strengthening partnerships, advancing global health initiatives in Ethiopia, and supporting leadership development. The fellows collaborated across institutions and countries, combining academic experience with community-based engagement.

Fellows from Johns Hopkins University, the University of Washington, and the University of Gondar - Blaine Mengistu-Gunn, Brooke Erickson, and Bewuketu Terefe - worked together in Addis Ababa, showing the impact of cross-cultural collaboration in working towards global health goals.

One focus of the fellows’ work in 2025 was building partnerships in Ethiopia by establishing SCOPE’s collaboration with Healing Hands of Joy, an organization dedicated to supporting women living with obstetric fistula. Fellow Blaine Mengistu-Gunn created a curriculum to train priests at the Healing Hands of Joy Center in Jimma, preparing them to serve as Safe Motherhood Ambassadors. The curriculum enabled the expansion of community health education by leveraging the influential role of religious leaders in promoting safe motherhood practices and maternal health. 

Mental health research was another priority in 2025. Brooke Erickson and Bewuketu Terefe extended work started by 2024 SCOPE Fellow Hiwot Weldemariam by conducting research on mental health initiatives in Gondar and among youth in Addis Ababa. Their work helps lay the groundwork for future community-based programs.

Fellows also attended the Institute for Primary Health in Ethiopia (IHPC-E) conference, where they met representatives from the Ministry of Health, informing future directions for SCOPE’s global health initiatives.