Geographical Locations - Ethiopia

• (Statistical) Number of Inhabitants per Doctor: 32,500
• CIA World Factbook : Ethiopia

Organisations and Networks

UN and Multinational

• WHO
  - WHO Country Profile - Ethiopia
  - WHO - Tobacco Control: Country Profile - Ethiopia
  - WHO - Environmental Burden of Disease: Country Profile – Ethiopia
  - WHO - Malaria Country Profile - Ethiopia
• WHO - Regional Office AFRO in Brazzaville, Congo
• UNDP - Ethiopia

Government

• Ethiopian Ministries ( addresses only, provided by ETHIO.COM )
• Ethiopian Science and Technology Commission
• Embassy of Ethiopia in Washington
• Parliament of Ethiopia Website

Non-Government

• CARE's Work in Ethiopia
  CARE works with poor communities in more than 70 countries around the world to find lasting solutions to poverty by looking at the big picture of poverty, and going beyond the symptoms to confront underlying causes. This site outlines CARE's programmes in Ethiopia.
• Ethiopian Public Health Association (EPHA)
  "EPHA is a legally registered national, independent, not-for-profit, voluntary professional association established in 1989. Attempts to form a public health association date back to 1960s. The first attempt was in the Gondar campus in 1966 but failed. In 1975, the former Health Officers Association which could be considered as the precursor of EPHA was established, and in 1989 as a successor of the previous attempts and as a multi-disciplinary professional association EPHA was established."
• Marie Stopes International Ethiopia
  The Marie Stopes International provides sexual and reproductive health information and services worldwide. This page provides information on the organisations programmes in Ethiopia.
• MSF - Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders
  MSF is an independent humanitarian medical aid agency committed to providing medical aid wherever needed and raising awareness of the plight of people they help.

Academic Institutions

• Addis Ababa University
  Addis Ababa University (AAU) is the oldest higher educational institution in Ethiopia. AAU started its operation in 1950 under the name University College of Addis Ababa. It was renamed Haile Selassie I University in 1962 and then Addis Ababa University in 1975. AAU runs Diploma, Bachelors, MD, DVM, Masters, Speciality Certificate and PhD degree programs.

National Policy and Related Documents

• National Five-Year Strategic Plan for Malaria Prevention & Control in Ethiopia, 2006 – 2010
  "Following end of the first five-year of implementation from 2001 – 2005, this national five-year strategic plan for 2006 – 2010 has been developed to guide malaria prevention and control in the country. The National Five-Year Strategic Plan for 2006 – 2010 will focus on scaling-up of malaria control activities in the context of the Accelerated Expansion of Primary Health Care Coverage in Ethiopia with special focus on maximizing the role of Health Extension Workers in malaria prevention and control. This effort will also be hastened by strengthening partners and community participation and ownership of the program and the joint effort will be geared towards contributing to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets of reducing the burden of malaria and to eventually halt transmission of the disease by 2015. The main strategic areas that have been identified for the scaling-up of malaria prevention and control activities will include among others, case management, selective vector control with special emphasis on increasing coverage and utilization of Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs) and targeted and timely application of In-door Residual Spraying (IRS). Improving the capacity in malaria epidemics preparedness, early detection and containment will also be given due emphasis."
• National Strategy for Child Survival in Ethiopia
  Ethiopia, through the progressive implementation of the Health Sector Development Program in the last seven years, has made great strides to improve maternal and child survival. However, the National Infant and Under-five Mortality Rates are still high about 97/1000 and 140/1000 respectively. About 90% of mortality in under-fives is caused by pneumonia, malaria, diarrhea, measles and neonatal causes (pre-maturity, asphyxia and neonatal sepsis). Malnutrition and HIV are underlying causes in about 57% and 11% of these deaths respectively. The levels of mortality are worsened particularly by poverty, inadequate maternal education, lack of safe water supply and sanitation, and high fertility and inadequate birth spacing… The [2005] strategy addresses the underlying conditions that account for 90% of child mortality plus malnutrition and HIV/AIDS, the two most important underlying causes of death. The focus will be on selected cost effective and high impact interventions. The strategy is an important component of the Health Sector Development Program (HSDP III) and Social Development and Poverty reduction Program (SDPRP II). The overall objective of the Strategy is to reduce the current under-five mortality of 140/1000 to 67/1000 by 2015 - this being a reduction of two thirds from the 1990 rate of about 200/1000 live births or a 52% reduction from the 2004 rate of 140/1000 live births. The Health Services Extension Program (HSEP) is the main pillar of the Child Survival Strategy for increasing access to promotive, preventive and basic essential curative health services to the majority of the under served population.

Reports, Guidelines, and Projects

• Ethiopia: A Sociopolitical Assessment
  Commissioned by the UNHCR Status Determination and Protection Information Section, this report examines the contemporary social, political and economic situation in Ethiopia. It looks at possible sources of conflict and population displacement in the short to medium term in the light of the two primary events and processes that have dominated Ethiopia during the period 2004-2006, namely the national elections of 2005 and the continuing impasse over the disputed border with Eritrea.
• Factors Influencing Women's Intention to Limit Child Bearing in Oromia, Ethiopia
  Background: The desire for large family size is one of the factors influencing fertility in Ethiopia. Thus, understanding factors that influence the fertility intentions of women is important for family planning program purposes and population policy. Objective: The objective of this study was to examine factors which influence women's intentions to limit child bearing in Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia. Methods: The 2005 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey was the data source. A weighted sub-sample of 3300 married women was drawn from the DHS women's dataset. Results: A greater intention to limit childbearing is associated with older age, larger number of living sons and daughters, being wealthier, no previous child death, knowledge and use of family planning and exposure to media. Conclusion: A high proportion of women desired to limit childbearing, but there was a large unmet need for contraceptives. Thus, improving access to family planning services to women who have achieved their fertility goals would be important. [Ethiop.J.Health Dev. 2009;23(1):28-33] [author abstract]
• HealthNet Ethiopia
  Through HealthNet Ethiopia, thousands of health practitioners throughout Ethiopia have access to a wide range of information services critical to health care delivery.
• How friendly are the reproductive health services of Model Youth Centers in Addis Ababa
  In this 2007 thesis by Zinaw Tadesse from the Department of Community Health at Addis Ababa University, "Background: Youth sexuality and reproductive health are generally not well addressed. As a result, problems like unwanted pregnancy, complications of unsafe abortion, and STI including HIV/AIDS remain very common, particularly, in the developing countries such as Ethiopia. Objective and methodology: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted to assess the friendliness of reproductive health services provided by Model Youth Centers in Addis Ababa… Observation, key informants interview, focus group discussions and exit interviews were the methods used and data was collected from February to March, 2007. Result: Currently, reproductive health services like family planning counseling, contraceptives provisions, pregnancy test, STI diagnosis and treatment, VCT [Volunteer Counseling and Testing] and other related counseling are being delivered by the youth centers...The utilization of the existing services by the age group 10-14 was found to be very law. Majority of the clients sought VCT services (52.6%) and only around 18% of the total interviewed clients came for contraceptives… Overall 92.7% of the clients were satisfied with the services they had received. Discussion and Conclusion: … addressing early adolescent age group (10-14 yrs) was overlooked by the centers. Sub optimal services friendliness was observed in placing and using appropriate guidelines and polices regarding youth friendly service provision. In addition, RH service providers of the centers had not received any training in respect to delivering friendly services to youth. The need of intensifying reproductive health educations and addressing early adolescents (10-14) should be the priority concern of the centers and peer education is the most effective tool identified." [author abstract]
• Public Service or Money: Understanding Geographical Imbalances in the Health Workforce
  Geographical imbalances in the health workforce have been a consistent feature of nearly all health systems, and especially in developing countries. In this paper we investigate the willingness to work in a rural area among final year nursing and medical students in Ethiopia. Analysing data obtained from contingent valuation questions, we find that household consumption and the student’s motivation to help the poor, which is our proxy for intrinsic motivation, are the main determinants of willingness to work in a rural area. We investigate who are willing to help the poor and find that women are significantly more likely to help than men. Other variables, including a rich set of psycho-social characteristics, are not significant. Finally, we carry out some simulations on how much it would cost to make the entire cohort of starting nurses and doctors choose to take up a rural post.
• Rapid Scale-Up of Antiretroviral Treatment in Ethiopia: Successes and System-Wide Effects
  "(a) There has been substantial expansion of access to ART and HIV counseling and testing in Ethiopia, whilst maintaining the performance of other health programs such as tuberculosis and maternal and child health services. (b) Task shifting to the health officers, nurses, and health extension workers is thought to be responsible for these successes. (c) However, HIV prevention interventions and management of chronic care patients are lagging behind. This may be due to lack of attention to these health care areas and to physicians leaving the public sector for NGOs, including AIDS-related NGOs. (d) Prevention of HIV infection, retention of patients in chronic care, and retention of physicians in the public sector need urgent attention for effective and sustainable HIV/AIDS and health systems responses in the long term." [author summary points] [April 2009]
• Report on Progress towards Implementation of the UN Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
  This March 2008 report states, "Data obtained in 2005 from ANC surveillance and the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) indicate that the [HIV/AIDS] epidemic may be less severe, less generalized and more heterogeneous than previously believed. A careful assessment of data gathered over the last four years suggests that the epidemic has stabilized, with adult HIV prevalence estimated at 2.2% in 2003/04 and 2.1% in 2006/07. The rural epidemic appears to be relatively widespread but heterogeneous, with most regions having a relatively low prevalence of HIV, but a few demonstrating adult prevalence greater than 5%. In general, HIV incidence is leveling off after declining over the last few years (1996-2001)."
• Survey on Prices of Medicines in Ethiopia
  "The study on the prices of medicines in Ethiopia was jointly conducted by the Pharmaceuticals Administration and Supplies Service (PASS) of the Federal Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO) from 15 September to 15 October 2004. The survey was carried out in four regions of the country: Tigray, Amhara, Oromia and Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region (SNNPR) as well as in the capital city, Addis Ababa… In order to assess affordability of cost of treatment of common disease conditions to low-income people, the costs of treating 6 common disease conditions were calculated and compared with the daily wage of the lowest paid government worker (Birr 6.70 or US$ 0.80 per day). In addition, the components of prices of medicines were identified to determine cost factors, which contribute to the final cost of medicines that a patient pays…. The results show that availability of medicines in public health facilities was lower than in the private pharmacies but comparable to the availability in special pharmacies /ERCS medicine outlets. Availability of all types of medicines also varied widely between medicine outlets surveyed in all sectors… The low availability of medicines in the public health facilities and special pharmacies/ ERCS medicine retail outlets indicates that patients will be forced to purchase medicines at higher prices in the private pharmacies or go to informal sector or forgo treatment… Public procurement prices for most sold and lowest price generic products in Ethiopia were lower than the international reference prices by 29 % and 39 %, respectively. This shows that procurement agencies in Ethiopia are purchasing medicines at internationally competitive prices. Comparison with other African countries has also shown that Ethiopia has a relatively cheaper generic patient prices and procurement prices." The Executive Summary can be found here.
• The association of TB with HIV infection in Oromia Regional National State, Ethiopia in 2006/7
  Background: Infection with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is an established risk factor for tuberculosis infection. Population-based data on associations between HIV and tuberculosis (TB) can provide an epidemiological assessment of the impact of HIV infection on TB in environments where individual based data are difficult to collect. Method: We used an ecological study to assess the association between infection with HIV and tuberculosis in Oromia Region National State, Ethiopia in 2006/7. Result: The prevalence of HIV infection was significantly associated with the incidence of TB across the areas in Oromia region (r=0.69, p<0.01). Similar associations were also seen for the prevalence of HIV infection with the incidence of smear positive tuberculosis, smear negative tuberculosis and extra-pulmonary tuberculosis. Conclusion: Ecological association between HIV and TB is strong in Oromia Regional state. Therefore, in areas where there are high TB case notification rates, it is important to consider the possibility that the prevalence of HIV may also be increasing, and take appropriate public health measures to assess and address these issues. [Ethiop.J.Health Dev. 2009;23(1):63-67] [author abstract]
• The WHO Multi-country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence against Women
  "The Multi-country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence against Women, sponsored by the World Health Organization, between 2000 and 2003 collected data from over 24 000 women in Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, Japan, Namibia, Peru, Samoa, Serbia and Montenegro, Thailand, and the United Republic of Tanzania. The Study assessed women’s experiences of violence using a questionnaire developed and validated for cross-cultural use, with a special focus on violence by intimate partners. It also investigated how such violence is associated with ill-health and injury, and the strategies that women use to cope with the violence. In Ethiopia, the Study was carried out in the predominantly rural Meskan and Mareko District, 130 km south of Addis Ababa... Nearly one half (49%) of ever-partnered women experienced physical violence by a partner at some point in their lives, and 29% during the past 12 months."
• Young people’s HIV/AIDS & reproductive health needs and utilization of services in selected regions of Ethiopia
  "This report summarizes important work into the sexual and reproductive health needs of young Ethiopians. The generation of young people now in their late teens and early twenties is faced by unprecedented choice, but also daunting challenges. The combined effects of rapid urbanization and loosening cultural ties influence these young men and women at the same time that the impact of HIV/AIDS is being felt throughout Ethiopian society. The central findings of this study are that young people lack understanding of reproductive health issues, experience significant problems related to their sexual and reproductive health, and yet are reluctant to seek help for these problems. If available at all, the reproductive services provided in most regions are not designed with young people in mind and so may appear unwelcoming or unattractive. Health personnel are often ill-equipped to provide management and advice tailored to the needs of young people. However, there are positive elements to the study findings. The mould-breaking Model Youth Centers of the Family Guidance Association of Ethiopia demonstrate that it is possible to achieve accessible, attractive centers in which young peoples’ sexual and reproductive needs are tended to in the context of the wellbeing of the whole individual."

Educational Resources

• CDC Traveler's Health East Africa
• Ethio.com
  Ethiopian related news and information
• Ethiopia Public Health Training Initiative - Health Learning Materials
  "Many health programs around the world are designed for broad geographic regions and then instituted in various countries with little regard for the unique cultural diversity of each nation. A priority of the Ethiopia Public Health Training Initiative is to develop learning materials based on Ethiopian experience, to ensure that pre-service training will be directly relevant to the country's health practices and priorities. The program's aim is to train a skilled national health care work force to serve the largest and most populous country in the Horn of Africa. These materials are presented for use by the Ethiopia Public Health Training Initiative as an example of how educational materials can be created for any public health situation. The following documents were created by Ethiopians, for Ethiopians: they are designed to meet the health challenges faced by Ethiopia, particularly in underserved rural populations, where lack of access to health personnel is one of the most significant hurdles to better health. Use of these materials is encouraged for individuals or organizations who desire to view one model of how to build the capacity to provide pre-service health education for a particular population of health care workers. These documents should not be used by anyone without proper medical licensure or training to diagnose, treat, or give medical advice… All materials are fully copyrighted and all international copyrights must be upheld."
• Ethiopian Journal of Health Development
  "An open-access, peer-reviewed journal published three times a year. It is the main forum for exchange of information on public health in Ethiopia, and has been in print since 1984. The Journal is useful for policy makers, managers, practitioners, researchers and students."
• Library of Congress, Country Study: Ethiopia
• MediaEthiopia.com
  This site provides extensive information on Ethiopia. It includes sections on arts/literature, business, community as well as links to the latest news stories.
• One World Ethiopia Short Guide
  OneWorld UK aims to provide the UK's best online coverage of human rights and sustainable development. One World's guide to Ethiopia provides articles about the Economy, Conflict, Human Rights, Information and Media, Politics, Health and the Environment in the country.
• UNAIDS/WHO Epidemiological Fact Sheet on HIV and AIDS: Core data on epidemiology and response – 2008 update – Ethiopia
  Number of people living with HIV: 980 000; Adults aged 15 to 49 prevalence rate: 2%; Adults aged 15 and up living with HIV: 890 000; Women aged 15 and up living with HIV: 530 000; Children aged 0 to 14 living with HIV: 92 000; Deaths due to AIDS: 67 000; Orphans due to AIDS aged 0 to 17: 650 000.