Ministry of Health (Ethiopia)

Vision To see healthy, productive and prosperous Ethiopians.   Mission To reduce morbidity, mortality and disability and improve the health status of the Ethiopian people through providing a comprehensive package of promotive, preventive, curative, rehabilitative and regulating health services via a decentralized and democratized health system in collaboration with stakeholders.   Values   Community first Collaboration Commitment Change Trust Continued Professional development   Strategic Objective   To minimize maternal mortality rate during pregnancy and delivery To minimize infant mortality rate To prevent and control HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria and other diseases   Powers and Duties of the Ministry according to proclamation 4/87:   Cause the expansion of health services Establish and administer referral hospitals as well as study and research centers Determine standards to be maintained by health services; except insofar as such power is expressly given by law to another organ, issue licenses to and supervise hospitals and health services established by foreign organizations and investors Determine the qualifications of professionals required for engaging in public health services at various levels; issue certificates of competence to same Cause the study of traditional medicines; organize research and experimental centers for same Cause research to be undertaken on traditional medicines and, for this purpose, organize centers for research and experiment Devise and follow up the implementation of ways and means of preventing and eradicating communicable diseases Undertake the necessary quarantine controls to protect public health Undertake studies with a view to determining the nutritional value of foods sites   Programs and Projects   Ethiopia experiences a heavy burden of diseases with a growing prevalence of communicable infections. Many Ethiopians face high morbidity and mortality largely attributed to potentially preventable infectious diseases and nutritional deficiencies.   In response to such prevailing and newly emerging health problems, the Ethiopian Government-developed a 20-year rolling Health Sector Development Program (HSDP) in 1997/98 (1990 EFY), which proposes long-term goals for the health sector, and the means to attain them through a series of phases.   HSDP aims to develop a health system, which provides comprehensive and integrated primary care services, primarily based at community level health facilities. It focuses on communicable and noncommunicable disease prevention and control, common nutritional disorders, environmental health and hygiene, reproductive health care, maternal and child health, immunization and the treatment and control of basic infectious diseases like upper respiratory tract infections. It also focuses on health care administrative issues such as establishing quality health care, human resource management and financial resource mobilization.