The Africa CDC and the Mastercard Foundation have entered a new phase of their partnership under the Saving Lives and Livelihoods initiative, following the World Health Organization’s declaration that the COVID-19 pandemic is no longer a public health emergency of international concern. With financial support from the Mastercard Foundation through the Africa CDC, Amref Health Africa is collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH), Regional Health Bureaus (RHBs), and local health offices to implement this program across 50 woredas Oromia, Amhara, Tigray Region and Afar regions.
This Phase II initiative is designed to integrate COVID -19 vaccination into routine immunization and primary healthcare (PHC) services through life course approach and thereby strengthening Ethiopia’s public health systems.
Theory of Change
If immunization policies and strategies improved, if immunization service delivery and primary health care system is strengthened, if partnership, networking, learning is promoted, then, the efforts to save the lives and livelihoods of Ethiopian peoples will be enhanced.
SLL Phase II strategic priorities
• Finishing the Job by improving Covid -19 vaccination coverage amongst the priority population groups
• “Preparing for the Next pandemic” by protecting HCWs and other priority groups from vaccine preventable diseases
• Strengthening Health Systems as part of preparations for future pandemics.
Key COVID-19 Response Achievements
- Over two million-people reached with our community awareness campaign on COVID -19 prevention measures in several areas of the country
- Over 150 health centres, treatment, isolation and quarantine centres received personal protective equipment, hygiene and sanitation supplies, and handwashing facilities
- More than 500 health workers trained on IPC
- More than 10,000 communities received hygiene and sanitation supplies (hand sanitizer, hand soap, facemasks and more)
- More than 900 young volunteers engaged for community outreach, raising the awareness of vulnerable communities
- Nearly 16,000 health extension workers and 1500 supervisors trained on COVID -19 response - early prevention, case detection and referral
- 35,000 have access to handwashing facilities through the provision of plastic water reservoirs and plastic hand-washing stands
Our Stories
WASH first -COVID-19 response
Living in a rural Hagugeta Kuni kebele of Shameshemene district in the Oromia Regional State, Woyitue had very little information about the COVID-19 pandemic as well as its preventive measures.
Using Mobile Based Training to Support Community Health Workers Champion COVID-19 Prevention in Rural Communities
Equipping frontline health workers with the required knowledge and skills to respond to COVID-19 at the community level is one of the priorities of Ethiopia’s Ministry of Health. Degsew Mezgebu,
COVID-19 in Ethiopia – Timely Response at a Wider Scale Through Mobile-Based Training
Health extension workers (HEW) are a critical health workforce in the Primary Health Care Unit (PHCU) in the Ethiopian health system. They are currently leading the nation’s community-level COVID-19 response