Centers of excellence strategy for provision of high-quality reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health care across the community-to-hospital continuum: Strengthening the functional linkage between communities and facilities

Since October 2017, JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. through the Last Ten Kilometers Project (L10K 2020) has been supporting the four agrarian regional health bureaus (RHBs) in Ethiopia to establish centers of excellence (COE). COE are model service delivery sites and learning hubs that demonstrate high-quality clinical care provision and community engagement to other regions and facilities.

To establish centers of excellence L10K 2020 worked with the RHBs on interventions including community engagement activities, clinical mentorship, supervision, and training. Comprehensive, well-equipped skills laboratories are now functional at six hospitals and four health centers. COE strengthen the functional technical linkages between health facilities, which has resulted in improved facility readiness and provision of quality health care across the continuum.