Betselot Firdawok Debelle

Mrs. Betselot Firdawok Debelle is an Ethiopian scholar, researcher, health advocate, project
manager, and leadership trainer whose work bridges the worlds of public health, academia, and
community development. Her unique perspective on the Omo Valley, the subject of this book, is
shaped by a rare confluence of rigorous scholarship and a deeply personal connection.

Born in Addis Ababa in 1990, Ms. Debelle’s academic journey reflects her interdisciplinary approach to
development. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Midwifery from Haramaya University (2012), a
Master of Arts in Health Psychology from Addis Ababa University (2016), and a Master of Business
Administration in Project Management from Leadstar College of Management and Leadership
(2016). She is currently a PhD Candidate in Food Security and Development at the College of
Veterinary Medicine and Agriculture, Addis Ababa University (2024/25), where she serves as the class
representative. Her doctoral research focuses on the impacts of climate variability on maternal
nutrition among the pastoral and agro-pastoral communities of South Omo, the very populations at
the heart of this book. This scholarly pursuit positions her at the forefront of understanding how
environmental change intersects with human well-being in one of Ethiopia’s most vulnerable and
culturally rich regions.

Her commitment to leadership and social change has been further honed through specialized
training, including the Executive Community Leadership program at Jönköping University, Sweden,
in partnership with Addis Ababa University (2022), and certification as a trainer in Leadership for
Inclusive and Participatory Policy Processes through the USAID Feed the Future Program.

For over a decade, Ms. Debelle has worked across Ethiopia’s public, academic, and NGO sectors in
roles that combine frontline service with strategic leadership. She began her career as a midwife at
DilChora Referral Hospital in Dire Dawa, before becoming a lecturer at Haramaya Universitys
College of Health and Medical Sciences.

Her subsequent work in the civil society sector has been
marked by increasing responsibility and impact. She has served as Lead Program Coordinator for the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Anchor III  IV projects at the Ethiopian Civil Society Health
Forum (ECSHF), where she coordinated child survival initiatives in Reproductive, Maternal,
Newborn and Child Health (RMNCH), nutrition, immunization, and pneumonia.

In this role, she
represented the Consortium of Christian Relief Development Association (CCRDA) as a
Permanent member of the Global Financing Facility (GFF) across thirty-nine African countries
committee and served on the steering committee of the Ethiopian Civil Society Coalition for Scaling-up Nutrition (ECSC-SUN). Her portfolio also includes managing projects funded by the Global
Fund, GIZ, the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation, and the International Federation of Red Cross and
Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

Beyond her professional qualifications, Ms. Debelle brings to this
work a deeply personal stake in the Omo Valley’s future. Her family maintains a farming plot in
Semen Omo and Debub Omo of 750 hectar of farm, managed by her husband, Mr. Missa Abebe.
This connection has granted her an intimate window into the daily rhythms, wildlife, agricultural
practices, and community dynamics, grounding her academic research in lived reality and infusing this
book with both scholarly insight and heartfelt reverence. She is a lifetime member of the Ethiopian
Midwives Association and serves on the Board of Directors for New Life Teen Challenge
Development.

She is also a devoted mother of two children, for whom this book was written as a
legacy a testament to the hope that they, and generations to come, will inherit a world where cultures
and natural wonders continue to thrive.