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In 1909, the first hospital in Ethiopia, Menelik II Hospital, was established and staffed by Russian health personnel. Russia had established ties to Ethiopia during a major battle against an Italian invasion in 1896, after which modern Ethiopia emerged under Emperor Menelik II. Unlike many of the other African countries, the victory over Italy ensured Ethiopia's sovereignty and freedom from colonization. When Menelik II's daughter and successor died in 1930, his cousin, Tafari Makonnen, was crowned Emperor Haile Selassie I. Menelik II Hospital served as a training facility for auxiliary health personnel until another Italian invasion in 1936. In 1939, Princess Tsehai, Emperor Selassie's daughter, completed her training in child nursing and became the first national nurse in Ethiopia.
During World War II, Ethiopian nurses came from a variety of areas. In 1942, for example, after Ethiopia was liberated from Italian occupation, Sister Meheret Paulos graduated in Jerusalem. She worked with the first unit of the British Army in Egypt until 1945 and then returned home to serve in various hospitals in Ethiopia. In 1945, Swedish medical and nursing personnel were recruited to alleviate the health care workforce in Ethiopia. In addition, the World Health Organization (WHO) "Field Mission" sent a physician and nurse to help organize "dresser" courses, or courses in auxiliary nursing. Then in 1949, Sister Sambatu Gabru graduated from a school in Beirut...