🔥 When the Body Rebels?

Zebeaman Tibebu
Jul 25
3 min read

Are you a young woman stuck in years of constant weariness?

Have you suffered puffy joints with achy pain that worsens in the early morning?

In Ethiopia, it is not uncommon to find patients suffering from long-standing symptoms that persist for many years. Men battling mysterious rashes. Children growing up to develop chronic diseases too complex for their age.

The culprit?

A group of diseases so terribly misunderstood that often they remain undiagnosed for decades—autoimmune diseases. These are diseases in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks its own healthy tissue.

What Happens When the Defender Becomes the Attacker?

Your immune system is your own army. It is trained to identify and destroy viruses, bacteria, and anything alien.

But with autoimmune diseases, this army loses its way.

It starts mistaking your own organs, joints, skin, and tissues for enemies. And what happens next? Inflammation, pain, organ damage, and a roller coaster of chronic symptoms that baffle even seasoned physicians.

More than 80 autoimmune diseases have been identified, each attacking a different part of the body. A few are household names—type 1 diabetes, for example, or rheumatoid arthritis—while others, like myasthenia gravis or autoimmune hepatitis, operate in relative anonymity. Yet they all share one thing: they're increasing, both globally and in our own community.

Both the World Health Organization (WHO) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) report a steady rise in autoimmune disorders, especially in low- and middle-income countries. And Ethiopia is no different.

Autoimmune Diseases You Need to Know About

While there are more than 80 diseases, some are more prevalent—and disabling—than others:

Lupus (SLE): Called "the great imitator," lupus attacks the skin, joints, kidneys, brain, and more. In Ethiopia, women between the ages of 15–45 are increasingly being diagnosed, after years of being misdiagnosed as "stress" or "hormonal problems."

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA): Not a disease of just the elderly—RA causes joint deformity and disability in people as young as their 20s. Ethiopian studies illustrate that RA is underdiagnosed due to limited access to specialists.

Type 1 Diabetes: This autoimmune form hits children and teenagers, destroying insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Its emergence in sub-Saharan Africa has been staggering, with the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) projecting a 10% annual rise in numbers of type 1.
Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and Graves' Disease: Both thyroid gland-related, they cause fatigue, weight loss or gain, depression, and infertility. But thyroid screening is not covered under routine care in Ethiopia.
Psoriasis and Vitiligo: These skin autoimmune conditions not only present physically but also with huge social stigmatization. Many patients avoid being treated for shame or local culture.
Other conditions like Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Celiac Disease, Myasthenia Gravis, Sjogren's Syndrome, and Autoimmune Hepatitis are increasingly encountered in tertiary centers and specialist clinics—at least at late stages.

Why Are Autoimmune Diseases On the Rise in Ethiopia?

Causes are complex, but specialists list some key triggers:

Urbanization and the "Hygiene Hypothesis": As sanitation improves and infection abates, our immune system has less chance to fight—potentially increasing the likelihood of turning against the body itself.
Environmental Toxins: Pollution from factories, plastics, pesticides, and processed foods can all interfere with immune control.
Hormonal and Genetic Factors: Autoimmune diseases primarily affect women. Some are genetically determined, so a family history is crucial.
Delayed Diagnosis: The World Autoimmune and Autoinflammatory Diseases Foundation (WAAD) points out that poor resource patients are diagnosed years after symptom onset, typically after damage is irreversible.

There are few rheumatologists in the entire country of Ethiopia, and most of them reside in Addis Ababa. Most patients see general practitioners for consultation who are not trained on autoimmune red flags.

What Can We Do? Awareness is the First Defense

It's time we stop treating autoimmune symptoms as spurious or psychological. Here's what needs to happen:

Invest in diagnostic equipment: Testing like ANA, rheumatoid factor, anti-dsDNA, and thyroid antibodies is not luxury—they're essential.
Empower patients to speak up: Fatigue, joint pain, unintentional weight change, and rashes deserve more attention.
Incorporate autoimmune diseases into national health plans and NCD (Non-Communicable Disease) strategies.

📢 Final Word:

It's Not in Your Head—It Might Be Your Immune System

Autoimmune diseases do exist, are on the rise, and quietly ravaging the lives of Ethiopian communities. The sooner we see them, talk about them, and advocate for better care, the more lives we can improve—and save.

Let’s stop dismissing symptoms. Let’s start connecting the dots.