Country Registered Remarkable Results on Health Sector - Ministry

from All Africa

The Daily Monitor (Addis Ababa)

By Fikremariam Tesfaye
Addis Abeba

Ethiopia has registered remarkable achievements in the health sector over the past 15 years and the possibilities of meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is high, the Ministry of Health declared on Monday.

Meeting the press in his office to talk about the ministry's accomplishments over the stated period, Minister of Health Dr. Teodros Adhanom said many indicators exist that confirm the country's justified hope it will certainly attain the UN-set MDGs.

"Maternal mortality rate was 1,068 per 100,000 mothers 15 years ago, while the rate has now decreased to 67," the minister elaborated indicating there was more to be achieved in the next 15 years. "This number should be decreased to 267 in the year 2015. In addition to that the mortality rate of children under the age of five which was 200 per 1,000 has now decreased to 123,"he said. Training is being offered to 4,468 health officers under a program designed to provide speedy and efficient training to health professionals.

He said 10,700 health posts constructed under a program called : A health post for a kebele have already gone operational.

More than 24,500 health professionals were assigned to the health posts.

The country's health coverage service has reached to 86 percent and besides expanding health facilities the government has been striving to improve quality of the health service, according to the minister.

According to the recent WHO report, Ethiopia and Rwanda are best exemplary countries of reducing Malaria in more than 50%. The government distributed 20 million malaria protective nets freely.

The government is also striving to provide medication to HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis and sys it attaches due attention to prevention of the diseases.