Global Health Initiative

TB Research Annual Conference Focuses on Using Evidence to Guide Decisions, Strategies and Interventions

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A local youth theater group performs a song about TB infection prevention.
A local theater group performs a skit about a patient with TB symptoms
Minister of Health, WHO Ethiopia; and USAID representataives watch a youth group
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03/21/2013

Leading up to the commemoration of World TB Day on March 24, Minister of Health Dr. Kesetebirhan Admasu and Elise Jensen of the USAID Ethiopia health office, along with other partners, provided the opening remarks today for the 8th TB Research Annual Conference, “Evidence-Based Action: Strengthening Operational Research and Innovative Approaches for TB Control in Ethiopia.” The conference, organized by TB Research Advisory Committee (TRAC), focused on using evidence to guide decisions, strategies, and interventions in TB.

Addressing the stakeholders who work to combat tuberculosis in Ethiopia, Dr. Kesetebirhan emphasized, “Operation[s] research has to be an integral part of TB control program initiatives and we all must take our share of responsibilities for sustainably linking operations research with health program management initiatives.”

Ethiopia has made significant progress to stop TB and TB/HIV, reaching the global targets for case detection and treatment success rates. Despite this, Ethiopia continues to be the 8th highest-burden TB and multi-drug resistant-TB (MDR-TB) country, with an estimated prevalence rate of 237/100,000.

Ethiopia Hosts African Leaders to Accelerate Gains in Child Survival

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Ethiopia's Foreign Minister Dr. Tedros Adhanom joins leaders of USAID.
MD Weller discusses child survival with the Ethiopian Minister of Foreign Affair
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01/16/2013

Reposted from USAID IMPACT Blog

Today it was an honor for me to join African colleagues in health and development at the opening of the African Leadership for Child Survival – A Promise Renewed. Minister of Foreign Affairs Tedros Adhanom, Minister of Health Kesetebirhan Admasu, and the rest of the Ethiopian Government should be congratulated for hosting this meeting to accelerate the reduction of Africa’s child mortality rates.

African Leaders Pledge to End Preventable Infant and Child Deaths

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Ministers Tedros and Kesetebirhan
billboard in Addis Ababa
USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator Wade Warren addresses African Leaders.
USAID delegation with Ethiopia Minister of Foreign Affairs Tedros.
UNICEF Ethiopia Country Director Peter Salama and US Ambassador Donald Booth
DRC Minister of Health Dr. Mukwampa and US Ambassador Booth
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01/16/2013

Addis Ababa - From January 16-18, 2013, ahead of the African Union summit, the Government of Ethiopia convened a meeting of African Ministers of Health and global experts aimed at accelerating reductions in preventable child deaths through sharper national plans and improved monitoring and evaluation.

MalariaCare: Universal Diagnosis and Treatment to Improve Maternal and Child Health

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Date of Operation: 2012 – 2017

Primary Implementing Partner: PATH

Other Implementing Partner(s): Medical Care Development International, Population Services International, Save the Children

Regions of Operation: National

Goal:

Reduce the burden of serious childhood disease, notably malaria, and promote healthy communities and families.

Objectives:

  • Scale up diagnostic testing and case management for malaria at the facility and community levels in both the public and private sectors
  • Strengthen the quality and expanding the availability of laboratory services for malaria and other key infectious diseases
  • Improve the capacity of clinicians and community health workers to manage malaria and other childhood illnesses

Description:

PMI and UNICEF Rejoin Ethiopia Battle to Cut Malaria, Promote Child Survival

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Ambassador Booth presents mosquito net to Minister of Health Kesetebirhan.
Mission Director Weller, Ambassador Booth, Minister Kesetebirhan and Dr. Salama
A worker sprays a house to kill mosquitoes.
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12/19/2012

Addis Ababa - During the next five years, Ethiopians will see an improvement in malaria prevention and treatment thanks to a grant agreement signed today by U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia Donald E. Booth, Minister of Health Dr. Kesetebirhan Admasu, and UNICEF Representative to Ethiopia Dr. Peter Salama. The $100 million agreement will redouble efforts to prevent and control malaria in Ethiopia, notably in the most affected Oromia Region.

Funded through the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI),the USAID grant to UNICEF supports Ethiopia’s National Strategic Plan for malaria prevention (2011-2015), control, and elimination through the provision of life saving antimalarial drugs, diagnostic kits, and long lasting insecticide treated nets.  

Improving Malaria Microscopy through Quality Assurance

Submitted by rsauers on Tue, 11/20/2012 - 7:14am
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Image Credit: 
Joe Malone/PMI
A malaria microscopist examines blood smears in a health center in Oromia Region.
Malaria transmission in Ethiopia is unique. Unlike other sub-Saharan African countries, malaria is caused by two malaria parasite species in Ethiopia: Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax, which account for 60 percent and 40 percent of cases, respectively. Ethiopia’s treatment guidelines recommend artemether-lumefantrine as the first line treatment for P. falciparum and chloroquine for P. vivax malaria. To ensure that patients are appropriately treated with the correct drug, it is important that patients receive quality parasitological diagnosis.
 
In Ethiopia, parasitological diagnosis of malaria is done using multi-species rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) at the health post level and microscopy at health centers and hospitals. Although tremendous progress has been made by the Federal Ministry of Health to roll out multi-species RDTs, there remain critical gaps and challenges in malaria microscopy.

Using Micro-planning to Accurately Quantify Needs for Antimalarial Commodities

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 11/20/2012 - 6:58am
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Image Credit: 
Dereje Muluneh, UNICEF/Ethiopia
District officials during a micro-planning meeting in Adama, Ethiopia.
Quote: 
"I am pleased because I am involved in this important planning exercise with colleagues from other districts in the region and, in 2012, our district has already received the exact amount of LLINs based on our plan," said a participant from Haromoya District Health Office in Oromia Region.

Accurately quantifying antimalarial commodity requirements in Ethiopia is a challenge for multiple reasons. Transmission of malaria is highly variable and characterized by frequent and often large-scale epidemics. In addition, both artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) and rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) have a short shelf life. At the district level, poor quantification has often resulted in either an over-supply of antimalarial drugs and diagnostic kits and their subsequent expiry, or shortages and stockouts of these commodities.

Enriching Communication: The Malaria Research Network of Ethiopia

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 11/20/2012 - 6:44am
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Image: 
Dr. Brook Lemma, Chief Academic Officer for Research, Addis Ababa University and
Image Credit: 
Hiwot Teka/PMI
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"Thank you to PMI for supporting the cause of the Malaria Research Network of Ethiopia." Dr. Brook Lemma, Chief Academic Officer for Research, Addis Ababa University and Chair of the Malaria Research Network of Ethiopia.

Malaria is a major public health problem in Ethiopia, with 75 percent of the over 80 million inhabitants at risk for malaria epidemics. Although significant progress has been observed in scaling up malaria control interventions over the past few years, limited efforts have been invested in using research results to inform national malaria policy and the implementation of malaria control. Currently, considerable malaria research is being conducted by in-country stakeholders, including the Government of Ethiopia (e.g. the Ethiopian Health and Nutrition Research Institute), non-governmental organizations (e.g. the Carter Center), and academic institutions. Unfortunately, research is poorly coordinated amongst these stakeholders, as well as with the Federal Ministry of Health, and results are often not widely disseminated. There is a chronic gap between the implementation of malaria research and the application of research findings to malaria prevention and control.

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