Born in Madagascar in 1943, Dr Jember Tefera finished elementary school in Ethiopia and her secondary and university education in Great Britain. She received a master’s degree in Primary Health Care (PHC) and M.Phil. from the University of Manchester. “I saw poverty restricting people from getting medical care, that’s why I wanted to study it.”
Dr. Jember and her late husband Dr. Hailegiorgis (Mayor of Addis Ababa during the Haileselassie regime) were both imprisoned during the Derg regime. They spent a total of 13 years in prison during which time Dr Jember provided medical care and along with other political prisoners, assisted in the creation of a school for convicts and prison guards as well as helping to devise the accreditation of a health assistance school established in the prison, which continued even after she was released.
Inspired overall by her mother, Dr Jember became the visionary and director of the Integrated Holistic Approach Urban Development Project which works in some of the worst slum districts in Addis Ababa and has been in operation since 1990 upgrading slum areas in the city and addressing the needs of over 53,000 people. The Project addresses multiple needs of the community such as job training and development, health care, schooling, sanitation, road and alley construction, electric lighting, direct assistance to the elderly and disabled and more.
Dr Jember received many awards including the 2013 LifeTime Achievement Award; she will be remembered for her dedication to alleviating urban poverty. Dr Jember passed away in January at the age of 77 and is survived by four children.