For some background on the subject of HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia and organizations that can be supported that address vital aspects of the problem, DATA is a good place to start. With statistics and solid information with realizable goals, the group lays out the basics and points in several directions that lead to helping.

One of these is the Global Fund. Committed to disbursing, so far, $7.1 Billion (B!) in 136 countries earmarked for the fight against AIDS, TB and malaria, they have stated principles that sound great:

Operate as a financial instrument, not an implementing entity.
Make available and leverage additional financial resources.
Support programs that reflect national ownership.
Operate in a balanced manner in terms of different regions, diseases and interventions.
Pursue an integrated and balanced approach to prevention and treatment.
Evaluate proposals through independent review processes.
Establish a simplified, rapid and innovative grant-making process and operate transparently, with accountability.
Operate as a financial instrument, not an implementing entity.

They "attract, manage and disburse resources" rather than implement programs, "relying instead on the knowledge of local experts."

For specifics on grants directed at Ethiopia, here's a chart on the subject.

There is also a comprehensive PDF on how Global Fund Grants have worked specifically in Ethiopia.

Another organization that steps up big time in the country as part of a concerted effort to impact the AIDS pandemic there is the Clinton Foundation.

The Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative (CHAI) sets the disease in its sights making treatment more affordable and putting in place large-scale integrated care, treatment and prevention programs.

CHAI's Ethiopia program works with Yale University and has set up the Ethiopian Hospital Management Initiative, "in response to the vision of Ethiopia’s Minister of Health to enhance management capacity in selected hospitals and develop a model of systemic changes that can be exported over a five-year period to all hospitals in Ethiopia."

Having such a big gun as Bill Clinton at the head of the foundation sure helps. Late last year he was able to negotiate for deeply reduced prices for 19 AIDS drugs used in the treatment of children. One of these, a triple-whammy-single dose combo now, thanks in part to the former President's determination, now costs less than $60 per year per child.

The new prices for 19 pediatric AIDS drugs are on average 45 percent less than the lowest rates offered to poor countries in Doctors Without Borders' listing of AIDS drug prices, and were more than 60 percent lower than the prices the World Health Organization reported were actually paid by developing countries, the foundation said.

And the ONE Campaign with the goal of "making poverty history" is well worth a look, a signature and a donation. Poverty is, after all, the most virulent disease on the planet.

For a lot more info on Ethiopia, see Mary's Ethiopia Adoption Blog.

So, there are a few options, and I'm sure there are many, many more. Anyone who'd like to plug an organization ... not just for Ethiopia, but those that contribute for the positive in any of our kids' birth countries ... send 'em in.