Ethiopia News

Gondar. 23 April 2014 – The fourth African Vaccination Week (AVW) kicked off with the theme "Vaccination – a shared responsibility" in Gondar, Amhara Region, on 23 April 2014. The goal of AVW, which runs from the 23rd until the 29th of April, is to strengthen the immunization programme by drawing attention to the importance, the need and the right of all persons to be protected against vaccine-preventable diseases. 

H. E.

Kulle Refugee Camp in Gambella Region, western Ethiopia, currently hosts about 35,000 of the 97,000 refugees from South Sudan taking shelter in three camps in the region. Almost 66 per cent of the refugees in Kulle are women and children. The WHO assessment team led by the WHO Representative comprising technical experts in emergency and outbreak response, malaria, water and sanitation, immunization, and communication, witnessed the concerning health conditions at the camp on 22 April 2014 whilst assessing the situation to urgently intensify WHO technical support.

Jigjiga. 17 April 2014 – The World Health Organization (WHO) and Somali Region are poised to intensify efforts to interrupt polio transmission in the region and in Ethiopia. A high-level WHO delegation, led by the WHO Representative to Ethiopia, visited the Somali Region on 14 and 15 April to affirm WHO's support to the region and discuss increased strategic interventions to control the outbreak.

Hawassa. 7 April - More than half the world’s population is at risk of diseases such as dengue, malaria, yellow fever, schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis and lymphatic filariasis, carried by mosquitoes, flies, ticks, water snails and other vectors. Every year, more than one billion people are infected and more than one million die from these diseases.

High-level political commitment bolsters eradication campaign in endemic region of Gambella
Addis Ababa. 19 March 2014 – The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed the lowest-ever number of reported cases of guinea-worm disease since the eradication campaign began in the mid- 1980s. After more than 30 years of continuous struggle, only 148 cases were reported globally in 2013.

Addis Ababa. 28 February 2014 – Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) were signed between the FMOH and six training institutions, namely, Amanuel Mental Specialized Hospital, and Universities of Mekelle, Jimma, Hawassa, Bahir Dar and Haramaya on 21 February 2014 at a Mental Health Forum held in Addis Ababa. The MoUs have formalized the role of the training institutions in the scale up process.

Addis Ababa, 4 February -- World Health Organization Country Office for Ethiopia welcomed closer collaboration with UNOPS, the operational arm of the United Nations, after a meeting with Garry Conille, UNOPS Regional Director for Africa, and Bamidele Ilebani, UNOPS Country Coordinator for Ethiopia, Djibouti and South Sudan.

The cordial meeting gave an opportunity for WHO to highlight areas of collaboration between UNOPS and WHO to intensify their joint efforts to Deliver as One in Ethiopia, particularly to improve procurement and operations capacity during emergencies.

Addis Ababa, 31 January 2014 –- After over ten years without a single indigenous case of wild poliovirus (WPV), in 2013 importation of the virus was witnessed in Ethiopia. The country is now one of three countries with imported polio cases since the current outbreak affecting the Horn of Africa began in Somalia in May 2013. 

Addis Ababa, 27 January -- Ethiopian House of Peoples’ Representatives ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) on 21 January 2014. The main objective of the Convention is to decrease the demand and supply of tobacco and tobacco products. It is the first international treaty negotiated in response to the globalization of the tobacco epidemic. The Convention represents a milestone for the promotion of public health and provides new legal dimensions for international health cooperation.  

Inside this issue:

2 WHO supporting the first round of nationwide polio supplementary immunization activity, 3-6 October 2013

4 WHO Regional Director urged all to fight stigma and discrimination against persons affected by leprosy

5 Independent review identifies progress and challenges of Ethiopia’s tuberculosis control efforts

6 The 63rd WHO Regional Committee for Africa agreed to intensify efforts across the health sector

7 We did it! Ethiopia achieves Millennium Development Goal 4