New Initiative Launches to Champion Women in Digital Health in Ethiopia
October 30th, 2024 | news
A health informatics worker at the Lideta Health Center. AGAR aims to increase the participation and skills of more Ethiopian women in the digital health and health information system field. Photo: Benti Ejeta /JSI
Despite Ethiopia’s progress in digital health transformation, a pervasive gender divide remains. Far fewer women than men work in the critical areas of digital literacy, data collection and management, data analysis and use for decision-making, document preparation, and the design and development of digital health tools. To close this gap, Ethiopia’s Ministry of Health (MOH), in collaboration with JSI’s Ethiopia Data Use Partnership (DUP), launched the Alliance for Gender Awareness and Resourcefulness (AGAR) in October.
Aligned with Ethiopia’s national strategy for gender and health information systems (HIS) and digital health, AGAR seeks to increase the engagement of women professionals in the space and strengthen their proficiency in data management and digital health through a comprehensive, six-month tailored training, mentorship, and skills-building program. By fostering a network of Women Data Champions, the initiative equips female MOH and regional health bureau employees with tools and support to succeed and lead in HIS and digital health.
AGAR’s comprehensive curriculum, developed by MOH and DUP digital health experts and grounded in a behavior change model, outlines targeted strategies at each stage. This approach aims for Women Data Champions to be catalysts for lasting systemic change who can lead in integrating gender considerations into HIS and transforming the culture of data use.
On October 1–2, DUP conducted a workshop with participants from the MOH and regional health bureaus to technically validate AGAR’s training modules and implementation guide, with recruitment for the first cohort planned in the coming months. AGAR’s success will rely on ongoing stakeholder engagement, leadership endorsement, technical capacity building, and strategic partnerships to foster a new generation of female role models and leaders in HIS and digital health.
Participants from DUP, MOH, and regional health bureaus at the AGAR validation workshop. Photo: Benti Ejeta/JSI
