Dire Dawa. 16 October 2014 – The 16th Annual Review Meeting (ARM) of the Health Sector Development Programme began yesterday in Dire Dawa. The meeting organized by the Federal Ministry of Health will run from 15 to 17 October under the theme "Crossing the finish line and envisioning beyond: Towards equitable and better quality health services in Ethiopia". The annual meeting brought together over 800 participants from the Ministry of Health, regional health bureaus, hospitals, universities, professional associations, civil society organizations, as well as UN agencies, and other health development partners to envision the future of the health sector in Ethiopia.

In his opening remark, Dr Kesetebirhan Admasu, Minister of Health, said that the previous year was a decisive year for the achievement of the health related Millennium Development Goals highlighting the achievement of MDG 4 on child mortality two years ahead of target date and the good progress towards achieving MDG 5 on maternal mortality and MDG 6 on HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria. The Minister of Health acknowledged that although Ethiopia has made significant progress and is nearing the MDG 5 and 6 finish line, achievements need to be sustained through continued efforts at all levels of the health sector. "The 16th ARM is unique as it is convened at the time we design the next 20 years vision of the health sector --- we are envisioning the attainment of equitable and better quality health service in the country,"  he said.

A maternal death surveillance and response system that includes maternal death identification, reporting, review and response can provide the essential information to guide actions to prevent future maternal deaths and improve the measurement of maternal mortality. By providing capacity building to health workers at hospitals and health centres in all of the regions as part of the Maternal Death Audit project, WHO and partners are strengthening the Ministry's efforts to achieve MDG 5 in the coming year.

On 14 October, prior to the opening of the 16th ARM, the participants visited  health facilities in Dire Dawa, Harari, Oromia and Somali regions. The WHO delegation, led by Dr Pierre M'Pele-Kilebou, WHO Representative to Ethiopia, visited Erer Health Centre and Aomer Health Post, close to Harar Town, where they met highly committed health workers dedicated to improving the health services for their community.

More information on the 16th ARM: More

For more information please contact Viivi Erkkilä, Communications, Partnership and Resource Moniblization, WHO Ethiopia, Email: erkkilac [at] who.int (:erkkilac[at]who[dot]int), Tel: +251 936 811947

Photos: WHO Ethiopia/ Viivi Erkkilä