LEARNING COMMUNITY COUNTRIES
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, a proven leader in malaria control, is scaling up
its malaria control efforts
through
an integrated
approach to health services
delivery.
The Ethiopian Ministry of Health (MOH) is supporting four major areas of intervention for malaria control:
- Case management by community-level Health Extension Workers.
- Indoor residual spraying.
- Distribution of long-lasting insecticidal mosquito nets (LLINs).
- Information, education and communication/behavior change communication (IEC/BCC) and community mobilization through countrywide implementation of community conversations.
Ethiopia’s Minister of Health, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, is the chair of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership Board and a vocal champion for malaria control scale-up. The national malaria control program has made remarkable progress with his support and a strong partnership including the Global Fund, USAID, the World Health Organization, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Bank Booster Program, the Carter Center, the Malaria Consortium, and UNICEF. Perhaps the partnership’s most notable achievement has been the distribution of 20 million LLINs in just two years—enough to meet the national goal of providing at least two LLINs to 100% of at-risk households.
In late 2007 MACEPA worked with Ethiopia’s MOH and its partners to conduct its first national-scale malaria indicator survey (MIS), which measured coverage of key malaria control interventions, including prompt and effective treatment and insecticide-treated mosquito net (ITN) ownership and use. MACEPA worked with the national team to plan and design the survey, provided training in MIS methods, and procured the handheld computers that were used to gather data. Results from the MIS demonstrated a dramatic increase in scaling up malaria control efforts, finding that 68% of households in malarious areas are now protected by at least one ITN or indoor residual spraying. 
Ethiopia is now in the advanced planning stages of developing a national malaria risk map (see above for map of existing malaria epidemiological strata of Ethiopia) that will draw on advances in remote sensing techniques and improved climate forecast information to rapidly detect and provide an immediate and appropriate response to potential outbreaks.
Learn more:
- Visit the Ethiopian Ministry of Health website.
- Read about Ethiopia’s progress and challenges on the RBM website.
Photo: PATH (Hana Bilak).
Map: Courtesy of FMOH/WHO.