Ethiopia News

The HPV Demo Programme Aims to Vaccinate 14,434 Girls

Ethiopia plans to introduce the Human Papillomavirus Vaccine (HPV) in two selected districts, Gomma and Ahiferom in Oromia region  and Tigray region respectively. WHO with the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) organized an orientation workshop on 22-23 June in Addis Ababa to prepare for the introduction of the new vaccine. Participants from FMoH, Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI), UNICEF, Regional Health Bureaus from the pilot regions, Path as well as Jimma and Mekele Universities took part in the workshop.

A new Dracunculiasis (commonly known as Guinea Worm Disease) case has been confirmed in Ethiopia. The third case of 2014 was reported on 2 December from Gog district in Gambella Region, southwest Ethiopia. Aggressive interventions, such as abating of ponds, were immediately taken to prevent other villagers from getting the disease.

Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS) surveillance training and experience sharing workshop was held in Harare, Zimbabwe from 17-19 June 2015. The participants came from 11 African countries, including Ethiopia. The workshop was facilitated by WHO's Inter Country Support Team of Eastern and Southern Africa (IST/ESA) and the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

A WHO training course fortuberculosis (TB) control programme managers organized by the World Health Organization Ethiopia Country Office and the Federal Ministry of Health took place during 24 November to 5 December at the ALERT Training Center in Addis Ababa.

Six STOP mission consultants who have been working in Ethiopia since February 2015 finalized their field work in June 2015. The 45th STOP team presented their final review of achievements and recommendation to FMoH on 27 June 2015.

The fourth Ethiopian HIV/AIDS Prevention Summit, held in Jigjiga, capital of the Somali Regional state of Ethiopia, 29-30 December 2014, drew attention to the concerning rise in HIV prevalence in the region. HIV prevalence has increased to 1,1% in 2014 from 0,7% in 2011. The national HIV/AIDS prevention summit called for intensified HIV response efforts in the region and the entire country. 

The post introduction evaluation of the rotavirus vaccine was conducted in Ethiopia 15-27 June 2015. The purpose of the evaluation was to assess how the introduction of rotavirus vaccine in 2013 impacted the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) and provide recommendations for improvement. Furthermore, it drew lessons from the rotavirus introduction to inform planning process for the introduction of other new vaccines.

Over the past 20 years, Ethiopia has risen from scoring the worst in global health indicators to a success story of expanding health services. Global development assistance is said to have been instrumental in this process of growing access to primary health care. 

Every year, the month January, is marked as safe motherhood month to advocate and mobilize resources for increasing access to quality maternal health services. This year’s theme “No woman should die while giving life” raises awareness on preventable maternal and infant mortality in Ethiopia and advocates for increased deliveries at health facilities. A number of events are taking place throughout January to draw the attention of all Ethiopians to the importance of healthy pregnancy and motherhood.

Achieving MDG targets for better health in Ethiopia

Fifteen years ago the world united around a common agenda to tackle poverty. This agenda is what we know as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); it committed global leadership to a new partnership to reduce extreme poverty and set out a series of time-bound targets with a deadline of 2015.

As the MDG end date approaches, it is time to reflect in what was achieved during the past years spent on pursuing the MDG targets.