Ethiopia News

Using experiences from the Polio Programme in the response to  COVID-19 Pandemic in ...


  Many frontline workers are putting their lives on-the-line in the response to COVID-19 Pandemic.  They put their lives at risk daily, tasked with the critical mission of controlling the spread and mitigating the impact of this pandemic. Mrs. Berhane Beyene is one of those heroines with the mission-essential task of keeping laboratory surveillance and detection of COVID-19 in motion. 

WHO Ethiopia supported UN Ethiopia COVID-19 table top Simulation Exercise

March 3,2020- UN Ethiopia organizes a COVID-19 tabletop simulation exercise (SIMEX) for the UN agencies in Ethiopia with the support of World Health Organization Ethiopia Country Office. Over 60 participants from UN 25 agencies participated in the exercise. The simulation exercise aims to strengthen preparedness and response capacity for a potential COVID-19 outbreak in the UN system in Ethiopia. 

First case of COVID-19 confirmed in Ethiopia

The Federal Ministry of Health has confirmed a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) case in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The case, which was announced on the 13th of March 2020, is the first one to be reported in Ethiopia since the beginning of the outbreak in China in December 2019.

Ethiopia passes landmark smoking excise bill

The Ethiopian Parliament has passed landmark legislation with the express aim of curbing smoking in the country.  As a result of the legislation, Ethiopia has now introduced a mixed-excise system on cigarettes in line with the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO).  This involves a 30% tax rate of the cost of producing cigarettes, in addition to a specific excise rate of eight Ethiopian Birr (ETB) (USD$ 0.25) on each individual packet.

Ethiopia stepping up readiness for coronavirus disease outbreak

Home to one of Africa’s busiest international airline hubs, Ethiopia is bolstering preparedness to contain a potential outbreak of coronavirus disease, now known as COVID-19. Health authorities are tightening up surveillance, diagnosis, epidemic response coordination and public health education to swiftly detect cases and limit widespread infections. Ethiopia is among 13 African countries the World Health Organization (WHO) considers as top priority for COVID-19 preparedness due to direct links or a high volume of travel to China. No case has been reported in the continent. WHO is strengthening its support to countries to detect and manage suspect cases and ensure a robust response when the first case is detected.

WHO, UNICEF and Rotary International Joint Statement on WPD: WHO, UNICEF and Rotary ...

24th October 2019 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Marking the commemoration of World Polio Day 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and Rotary International, jointly reaffirm their commitment to the fight against polio. As we commemorate World Polio Day 2019 for the 7th time in Ethiopia, the WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus who is also Chair of the GPEI Polio Oversight Board and the Global Commission for the Certification of Poliomyelitis Eradication (GCC) in Geneva, Switzerland are co-hosting the web-based event today to declare the Wild poliovirus Type 3 is eradicated globally.