Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — The World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with the Ministry of Health of Ethiopia, supported a landmark Training of Trainers (ToT) programme on Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE), bringing together multidisciplinary health workers to transform how care is delivered to older persons across primary health care services.
Funded by the Government of Japan through the TICAD9 Japanese Supplementary Budget (JFY2025), the initiative is part of the broader project “Restoring and Digitizing Health Services in Ethiopia.”
During the opening of the training, Dr Haimanot Workneh, Maternal and Child Health Programme Officer, delivered remarks on behalf of Prof. Francis Kasolo, WHO Representative to Ethiopia, and expressed sincere appreciation, stating: “I would like to thank the people and the Government of Japan for their generous support in advancing healthy ageing in Ethiopia.”
This initiative will help to respond to a rapidly accelerating ageing population in Ethiopia. With increasing life expectancy, the country is witnessing steady growth in its older population—bringing new opportunities but also increasing pressures on health systems traditionally oriented toward acute and disease-specific care.
In response, Ethiopia has prioritized healthy ageing through its National Healthy Ageing and Older Person Care Strategy (2026–2030). Central to this strategy is the delivery of integrated, person-centred care aligned with WHO’s ICOPE framework.
“Strengthening primary health care to meet the needs of older people is essential to achieving universal health coverage,” said Dr Yuka Sumi, Responsible for ICOPE in WHO Head Quarter. “ICOPE provides a practical framework to provide person-centred care for older people to maintain their intrinsic capacity and functional ability, dignity and quality of life.”
The four-day in-person training was held from 23–26 June 2026 in Adama, Oromia Region bringing together 38 participants, including health care providers from six health facilities (HFs) in Addis Ababa that will be piloting ICOPE which are: Tikur Anbessa Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Eka Kotebe General Hospital, ALERT Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Lideta Health Center, Kotebe Health Center, and Kolfe Keranio Health Center; Ministry of Health officials, civil society organizations, and WHO experts from the Country Office.
Participants include doctors, nurses, health officers, physiotherapists, nutritionists, psychologists, social workers and health extension workers—reflecting the multidisciplinary nature of integrated care for older people.
The training focused on building competencies across key areas including clinical care to prevent and manage declines in intrinsic capacity; person-centred assessment and care; planning, communication and collaboration with older persons and caregivers; integrated service delivery and referral coordination; and training and facilitation skills to enable cascade learning nationwide.
The TOT, which was facilitated by WHO (HQ, EMRO and AFRO), and designed to establish a sustainable national cadre of trainers and equip frontline providers with the skills and knowledge to serve as a foundation for phased sub‑national and national scale‑up of ICOPE implementation.
The workshop combined WHO ICOPE technical modules with interactive, adult-learning approaches ensuring learning by doing through hands-on demonstrations of functional assessments, case-based group work using real-life scenarios, “Inspirational tours” of ICOPE care pathways, peer-to-peer teaching through ToT practice sessions, and action planning for implementation in participants’ facilities.
A field visit was held on 26 June 2026 in Eka Kotebe General Hospital and Yeka Woreda 9 health center in Addis Ababa to allow participants to observe and reflect on practical implementation in service delivery settings. A key outcome of the training is the establishment of a national focal team or champion of ICOPE trainers. These trainers will be expected to lead cascade training and support phased scale-up across regions and levels of care.
“This ToT is not just about training individuals—it is about creating a sustainable system for knowledge transfer and long-term impact,” said by Dr. Elubabor Buno, Lead Executive Officer, Medical Services, Ministry of Health, Ethiopia who officially opened the ToT and appreciated the strong partnership and support from Japan and WHO, contributing to strengthening the capacity to deliver quality care for older people, and eventual adapting the WHO ICOPE approach to the Ethiopian context.
The initiative exemplifies strong collaboration between WHO, the Ministry of Health, and partners including civil society organizations.
Ethiopia has made significant steps toward ensuring that older people can age with dignity, independence and well-being. We appeal to all the stakeholders and partners to support this cause.
