U.S. Partnership with Ethiopia Digitizes Medical System for Better Health

June 11, 2019, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) AIDSFree Project and its Advancing Partners and Communities’ (APC) Health Management Information System Scale-Up Project highlighted the achievements made in digitizing Ethiopia’s health sector in support of the Federal Ministry of Health’s Information Revolution agenda. Over the past several years, both projects have worked closely with the Ministry to strengthen the pharmaceutical supply chain, digitize the regulatory system and scale up the Health Management Information System (HMIS) to improve the overall quality of healthcare for Ethiopians across the country.

In close collaboration with the Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Supply Agency (EPSA) and the Ethiopian Food and Drug Administration (EFDA), USAID support has helped increase the availability of health commodities and medicines for HIV, reproductive health, and maternal and child health. The U.S.-Ethiopia partnership has also led to the launch of the Electronic Regulatory Information System (eRIS) to help the EFDA streamline the import, registration, and licensing approval, submission and review process for pharmaceutical, food, and equipment importers. The eRIS will also help EFDA in its efforts to track medicines from international and local suppliers to the Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Supply Agency’s (EPSA’s) warehouses, and down to each health clinic.

At the closeout event, Ethiopia’s Federal Ministry of Health’s Director General Dr. Yekoye Worku USAID’s Health Office Director in Ethiopia Rachel Cintron, John Snow, Inc. Country Representative, as well as senior officials from FMOH, EFDA, EPSA, and representatives from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and a host of implementing partners,  highlighted the improvements in Ethiopia’s health information systems.

Implemented by John Snow, Inc., the AIDSFree project has developed several technology solutions to make data about the status and consumption rates of medical commodities more readily available to Ethiopia’s health professionals, resulting in more accurate forecasting and distribution decisions for medical supplies across the country. The APC HMIS Scale-Up Project, also implemented by John Snow, Inc., began in 2014 to help the Ministry of Health scale up the HMIS and other electronic health information systems.

The United States is the largest bilateral donor to Ethiopia’s health sector, with approximately USD $150 million per year in funding for HIV/AIDS; malaria; maternal, neonatal and child health; nutrition; tuberculosis; and water, sanitation and hygiene; and has been working with Ethiopia for more than 60 years. John Snow Inc. has been working with the Ministry of Health for the past 25 years to improve the health of Ethiopians by expanding access to family planning, improving immunization services, and strengthening the healthcare supply chain.

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For more information from USAID Ethiopia, please contact Mr. David Kahrmann at +251 911511434

For more information on AIDSFree Ethiopia, please contact Mr. Marasi Mwencha at +251 960403452

For more information on HMIS Scale-Up, please contact Mr. Hailemariam Kassahun at +251 920035977