Ethiopia News

UK parliamentarians The Lord Sheikh, Dr Philippa Whitford MP and Mr Jonathan Oates (recently elected to the House of Lords); will visit Ethiopia from 28th September to 2nd October 2015. The delegation will meet with Health Extension Workers, the Women of the Ethiopian Health Development Army, decision makers at the Federal Ministry of Health, and Regional health actors and partners to look at the national health system and community-based health programmes

A regional workshop to discuss on substandard/spurious/falsely labeled/falsified/counterfeit (SSFFC) medical products and to introduce participants – who will also serve as national focal points for SSFFC medicines control – to the WHO surveillance and monitoring system took place in Addis Ababa on 11-13 August 2015.

The workshop brought participants from 11 Anglophone African countries to deliberate and renew partnerships to create a network and fight together the negative impact of illicit medical products. 

Ethiopia marked a major milestone in its path towards zero TB death in children by launching its National Childhood TB Prevention and Control Roadmap on 30 July 2015 in Addis Ababa. The roadmap aims to guide implementation and strengthen prevention and management of childhood TB in the country. 

The 13th Africa Traditional Medicine Day was commemorated under the theme “Regulation of Traditional Health Practitioners in African Region” in August 31, 2015 in a workshop organized by WHO and the Food, Medicine and Health Care Administration and Control Authority. On this occasion, Ms Heran Gerba, Deputy Director General of Food Medicine and Healthcare Administration and Control Authority (FMHACA) while delivering an opening remark highlighted the valuable contribution of the traditional medicine in Ethiopia where 80% of the people use the traditional medicine.

Addis Ababa. 26 August 2015 – The exceptional leadership of the Ethiopian Government in the efforts to improve maternal and new-born health was commended by the UN H4+ Global Team mission that visited Ethiopia from 17-21 August 2015. The team assessed progresses made on maternal and new-born health as a result of interventions supported in the past two years by UN H4+ agencies – UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNWOMEN and WHO – with the government of Ethiopia. The interventions were supported through funding from the Swedish Government through Sida. 

WHO Country office Ethiopia is playing an essential role in supporting the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) to prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies with public health consequences. To deliver on its core commitments and performance standards, the country office fulfils four critical functions in emergency response: leadership, information, and technical expertise and core services.

In a bid to confirm global and national commitment to the eradication of polio from Ethiopia and the Continent, a high level polio vaccination event was held at Selam Health Centre in Addis Ababa. Minister of Health Dr Kesetebirhan Admasu, World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Dr Margaret Chan, The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) Chief Executive Officer Dr Seth Berkley and UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Ms Yoka Brandt participated in the event, symbolically administering polio drops to children.

Speaking at the side event onChanging the Conversation on Development Finance for Health, WHO Director Genearl Dr Margaret Chan, underscored the need to change the conversation in accordance with the changing global social, demographic and financial landscape. 

Implementation will Improve Access to Medicines 

The week of the third International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD) was an opportune time to launch the ambitious 10-year National Strategy and Plan of Action to Develop Local Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Capacity in order to increase access to locally manufactured, quality-assured, medicines. The FfD brought together high level persona from key health and development partners, most of whom attended and spoke at the launching event.   

The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) member states have signed a call for action to establish a regional medicine regulation collaboration and harmonization mechanism to fight illicit medicine circulation and improve availability of safe, effective and quality-assured medicines. Substandard/spurious/falsely labelled/falsified/counterfeit (SSFFC) medical products cost the lives of many people in the region.