Ethiopia's dramatic progress on the health care front was in the spotlight this week when Health Minister Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus participated in two high-profile events in Washington, D.C., including a White House Summit on Global Development featuring some of Africa's top health experts, as well as President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice.

Dr.Tedros took part in a number of discussions at the one-day event, including a panel on  global health called "A Shared Responsibility for Success," which was moderated by Admiral R. Timothy Ziemer, President Bush's malaria initiative coordinator for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

In his keynote address to the Summit, President Bush twice singled out Ethiopia for special attention.  He noted that the U.S. devotes $425 million to improving education in Ethiopia and a handful of other nations because "we want children to fulfill their God-given potential."  He also spoke about a $1.2 billion U.S. initiative that has cut the number of malaria-related deaths in 15 African nations by half, noting that "in places like Zambia and Ethiopia and Rwanda and Zanzibar, the numbers of people sick or dying from malaria have dropped dramatically."

The progress Ethiopia has made under Dr. Tedros' leadership is remarkable, earning him global acclaim and spurring other countries to follow suit. Due to his success in tackling critical problems like malaria, Dr. Tedros has been asked to take on a number of high-profile, leadership roles, including the chairmanship of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, the global initiative to fight malaria.

Malaria claims more than 1 million lives a year and every 30 seconds, a child dies of the disease in Africa.  Through a program that includes targeted spraying and widespread distribution of bednets, Ethiopia has in recent years cut the number of deaths caused by malaria by 48 percent and has reduced by 55 percent the number of people who need to be hospitalized for malaria treatment.  In a lecture co-sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Woodrow Wilson Center, two of the most highly-regarded think tanks in Washington. Dr. Tedros provided a more extensive explanation of the programs he has launched to build Ethiopia's health care infrastructure and improve medical services for all people, including the poorest of the poor.

In his presentation, which drew a standing-room-only crowd, Dr. Tedros discussed how his Health Ministry is aiming to produce 10 vaccines domestically in Ethiopia, including those for cholera, meningitis and yellow fever.  He also noted that Ethiopia is working to ensure that 95 percent of its medical research is focused on meeting the needs of the community.

Dr. Tedros talked about how Ethiopia is looking for ways to utilize and adapt best practices from other countries around the world.  The goal, he said, is to draw lessons from approaches that worked, and learn from those that did not, rather than "recreate the wheel."  

As a part of its effort to modernize Ethiopian medicine, Ethiopia is aiming to utilize information technology (IT) as a means of collecting and storing medial information.  Dr. Tedros said that the goal is to have 16,000 km of fiber optics installed by 2010, which will cover almost the entire country.  Work on half--about 8,000 km worth of fiber optic cables---has already been completed.  

Another topic that Dr. Tedros touched upon was Ethiopia's efforts to deal with the doctor "brain drain", which continues to be a problem throughout the African continent.  To help address its physician shortage, Ethiopia has found ways to train and retain low- and mid-level health workers who are not vulnerable to migration or brain drain.  

Ethiopia is using a strategy of "flooding" to over-produce these workers and ensure that Ethiopians around the country gain enhanced access to medical care.  Ethiopia currently has over 30,000 health extension workers, who are critical because they provide care outside of the urban population centers where medical care is much harder to come by.  

Ethiopia is also working to increase the pool of doctors. While Ethiopia had for several years graduated approximately 250 doctors annually, last year Ethiopia produced 1,000 doctors.  Over the next three years, according to Dr. Tedros, Ethiopia will have trained an additional 8,000-plus doctors.   

Boosting talent at all levels is critical to sustaining Ethiopia's health care system.  The number of trained health extension workers has mushroomed from just 2,737 in 2004 to 30,000 today.  Meanwhile, the number of health posts that have been constructed in Ethiopia has risen from 1,311 in 2001 to 11,446 in 2007.

The number of Ethiopian people who are utilizing HIV counseling and testing has grown from just 448,000 in 2004 to 4.6 million in 2007.   

At the conclusion of his presentation at the CSIS/Woodrow Wilson Center event, Dr. Tedros was swarmed by dozens of listeners who praised his presentation and thanked him for his ongoing efforts to make life better for millions of Ethiopians all across the country  

Embassy of Ethiopia  

Washington DC