Professor Mesfin Araya

Professor Mesfin Araya, a dearly loved psychiatrist by his students, colleagues and patients, is a Professor of Psychiatry at the School of Medicine at Addis Ababa University.

Professor. Mesfin Araya received his Medical doctorate from Addis Ababa University. After that, he studied Psychiatry in St. Petersburg (Leningrad). Coming back to Ethiopia he went on to develop Amanuel Hospital from a small Institution where one single Bulgarian Doctor had to take care for hundreds of chained patients, into a facility where patients are taken care of in modern ways, in touch with mainstream Psychiatry and Psychotherapy.

He served as head of the Department of Psychiatry at AAU and as Dean and later Provost of St Paul’s Millennium Medical School/College. He is the recipient of Gold Medals from the Ethiopian Medical Association and the Federal Ministry of Health. He has been instrumental in the establishment of the National HIV/AIDS Council and HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Secretariat.

Pro. Mesfin Araya has also assisted to set up a system of Psychiatric Nursing in all the main hospitals all over Ethiopia, through which basic Mental Health Care is available widely, with a referral system in which Amanuel Hospital is the Center. Prof. Mesfin Araya is currently teaching Psychiatry at the Addis Ababa University, college of Health Sciences, school of Medicine and had extensive publications.

Professor Mesfin Araya is a recipient of the “2009-በጎ ሰዉ” award in the category of ‘public service.’