Addis Ababa, April 7, 2023 – In 1948, countries came together and founded the World Health Organization (WHO) to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable – so everyone, everywhere, can attain the highest level of health and well-being.

Today, on World Health Day, WHO is celebrating its 75th anniversary. Working with 194 Member States across six regions and on the ground in more than 150 offices, WHO envisions a world where 'Health for All' is realized.
Ethiopia marked both events today with a panel discussion attended by senior officials from the Ministry of Health, academic institutions, and representatives of partner agencies. 
According to Dr. Ayele Teshome, Ethiopian State Minister of Health, "Ethiopia is one of the few African countries that, despite low GDP per capita, has realized life expectancy gains since 2000. Other health outcome indicators have also shown improvement with a remarkable reduction in morbidity and mortality from major communicable diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria.

Data from the Ethiopian Ministry of Health and WHO-Ethiopia indicate that the Expanded Program of Immunization (EPI) started in the country in 1980 and has protected millions of children against the crippling Wild Polio Virus (WPV), which was last reported in the country in 2014. 

Under-five mortality has reduced from 62.4/1000 live births in 2015 to 46.8 /1000 in 2021. Child mortality has reduced from 20/1000 live births in 2015 to 12.98/1000 in 2021; infant mortality has reduced from 43.2/1000 live births in 2015 to 34.27/1000 in 2021. 
The country has also reduced maternal mortality from 401/100,000 live births in 2017 to 267/100,000 in 2020. 

Furthermore, over the past two years, Ethiopia has protected 18 million people from measles, more than 4.5 million from cholera, and nearly 40 million from COVID-19, through vaccination. The impact of HIV/AIDS was reduced by 57 percent in 2022. 

"All these notable successes would not have been true without the commitment of the Ethiopian government, the multifaceted support of WHO, our development partners, and other stakeholders of the health sector," the State Minister affirmed, adding that the government and WHO are also collaborating in curbing impacts from the various health and humanitarian emergencies in the country.

With her keynote address delivered during the same event organized to commemorate World Health Day and the 75th anniversary of WHO, Acting Representative for WHO-Ethiopia Dr. Nonhlanhla Dlamini said World Health Day is an opportunity to deliberate on our past ambitions, successes, and challenges and build on our strengths to develop effective strategies to make our current and future priorities meet our global and national targets. 

According to the Acting Representative, despite the significant gains made, the country's health sector is facing challenges with the rising numbers of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), including injuries and COVID-19. 
There are health disparities between regions. And even within the same region, different population groups experience different health outcomes attributed mainly to their level of education, wealth, lifestyle, geography, access to infrastructure and essential services

"Taking the theme' Health for All' into context, we have yet a long journey to strengthen our concerted efforts needed to ensure everyone can access health care," Dr. Dlamini said and called upon all partners to pursue and support the increased engagement of sectors better to ensure that interventions are tailored to address root causes of health inequities and thereby improve health outcomes in the country.

World Health Day is observed every year on April 7. This year's celebration coincides with the 75th anniversary of WHO, which will be marked through a series of events at global, regional, and country office levels with the theme of "Health for All."

At the heart of #healthforall is the attainment of Universal Health Coverage, where people can access affordable, equitable, good quality, and sustainable health care. 

The anniversary will continue throughout the year with a set of campaign events that aim to remind the world about public health successes and current and future challenges and paint a picture of Health for All in the future. It would strengthen the WHO brand and reinforce the power of science, solutions, and solidarity.