The World Health Assembly (WHA) has approved Ethiopia’s proposed resolution entitled ‘Community Health Workers delivering Primary Health Care.’The General Assembly also approved the resolution proposed by Ecuador without amendment, said Dr Amir Aman, Ethiopian Minister of Health on Thursday in a tweet.
Ethiopia has achieved dramatic progress in improving the health outcomes of its population during the past years thanks to the establishment of health extension program in which health professional provide door to door services.
More than 40,000 health extension professionals have partcipated in the program which mainly involves awareness creation on personal hygine, family planning, nuttrition, liquid and dry waste disposal and maternal and child health among others.
Implemented by the country’s Ministry of Health, the program was referred to as one of the successful programs in sub-Saharan Africa.
The health extension workers provide key health services through fixed and outreach bases, delivering primary health care as they speak local languages and have the trust of local people.
They spend half of their working time conducting home visits and outreach activities and the remaining half at health post providing basic curative and preventive services.
Ethiopia’s Minister of Health, Dr Amir is in attendance of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 72nd World Health Assembly meeting which kicked off in Geneva, Switzerland on Monday, May 20, 2019.
Dr.Amir addressed the assembly about Ethiopia’s health sector successes, challenges and the way forward towards achieving universal health coverage (UHC) through strengthening primary health care (PHC).