Building on the foundation and framework laid by the leaders of the two countries to cooperate among countries in the region within the CARICOM framework, Ethiopia and Barbados have begun various initiatives.
The Ethiopian delegation, led by Health Minister Dr. Mekdes Daba, is participating in the 79th World Health Assembly being held in Geneva.
Health Minister Dr. Mekdes Daba, who made a speech at the assembly, stated that according to the recently released public health survey findings, Ethiopia has recorded encouraging results in reducing maternal and child mortality, and emphasized that in the future, by ensuring universal health coverage, close attention will be given to primary health care to diligently work towards creating a strong health system.
The Ethiopian delegation, led by Health Minister Dr. Mekdes Daba, has arrived in Geneva, Switzerland, to participate in the 79th World Health Assembly.
Dr. Mekdes, during the orientation forum she gave to the delegation, stated that Ethiopia is strengthening health diplomacy, particularly by using international forums such as the World Health Assembly.
Dr. Mekdes said that as Ethiopia is a member state of the World Health Organization, it will play its own role in the decisions and future work to be decided at the assembly.
During their discussion, they discussed various priorities, particularly the new role of the African Union Champion for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Digital Health.
Stating that innovation has always been a key foundation for Africa’s growth, Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed said that harnessing the power of AI and digital technologies to address the changing challenges facing our health sector is essential to strengthen our health systems, expand access, and achieve better outcomes for our people.
The EU-African Union Health Partnership, a milestone in strengthening Africa’s health security, resilience, and sovereignty, is reportedly focused on three new initiatives.
Ethiopia is fully committed to working closely with the Africa CDC, the EU, and all partners to ensure strong systems, strong institutions, and better health outcomes for communities, said Minister of Health Dr. Mekdes Daba.
The National Spine Center, built at the Millennium Medical College campus of St. Paul's Hospital, was inaugurated in the presence of the Minister of Health and other senior officials, the Ambassador of Israel to Ethiopia, the founder and veteran surgeons of JDC, St. Paul's leaders, and many stakeholders.
During the discussion, Minister of Health Dr. Mekdes Daba noted the long-standing partnership with CDC in health system strengthening, HIV/AIDS and malaria programs, and laboratory capacity building. She also thanked the CDC for its support.
She further called for this collaboration to be further strengthened, especially in the areas of strengthening emergency preparedness and response, as well as immunization services and information system modernization.
During the meeting, both sides reviewed the long-standing partnership between the Ministry of Health and the organization. Special attention was paid to the progress made in the areas of disease prevention, surveillance and eradication programs, including the prevention of tropical diseases, Guinea worm disease and other priority health issues.
The Ministry of Health held a forum with the German Embassy, the Robert Koch Institute, and the World Health Organization (WHO) on the initiative and partnership of emergency medical teams.
At the forum, German Ambassador Birgit Ori announced that Ethiopia will host the first international meeting of emergency medical teams, which demonstrates the country’s strong emergency response capacity and its ability to effectively prevent recent outbreaks, including the Marburg virus.
The forum on child health and nutrition in Africa was attended by His Majesty King Letsie III of Lesotho, the African Union Champion for Nutrition, along with senior government officials and representatives from international institutions.
Speaking at the event, Ato Adem Farah, Head of the Coordination Centre for Democracy Building in the rank of Deputy Prime Minister, said that Ethiopia has achieved significant results in successfully implementing the Lemat Thurufat and Green Legacy Decade initiatives.
