U.S. Funds Innovative New Jimma University Program in Health Monitoring and Evaluation

February 22, 2006
No. 05/06

Addis Ababa (U.S. Embassy) – On Thursday, February 16, the U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission, Janet Wilgus, traveled to Jimma to join Dr. Tedros Adhanom, Minister of Health; and Ato Fuad Ibrahim, State Minister of Education to mark the launch of a new program in Health Monitoring and Evaluation at Jimma University.  The new program, made possible through funding from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, will allow students to work toward either a Post Graduate one-year Diploma or a two-years Masters of Science (MSc) degree.

Jimma University’s Monitoring and Evaluation Program is the first of its kind in Africa.  It aims to produce qualified professionals in health monitoring and evaluation who will work in Ethiopia’s public-health sector, building critical capacity and leadership and improving the coverage, quality, and effectiveness of health programs, particularly in the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. 

International program partners in this innovative program include Tulane University in the U.S. and the National School of Public Health of Brazil, working in close collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health, the Ethiopian Public Health Association, the Regional Health Bureaus, and six Ethiopian Universities.  The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been the principal U.S. Government agency assisting in the program’s implementation through the Emergency Plan.

President George W. Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is the largest commitment ever by a single nation toward an international health initiative -- a five year, 15 billion dollar, multifaceted approach to combating the disease in more than 100 countries around the world. Ethiopia is one of 15 Emergency Plan focus countries.  Working with program partners around the world, the Emergency Plan has made great progress, but its ultimate goal is to build quality healthcare networks and increase infrastructure capacity in host nations to sustain these efforts long into the future.  The AIDS initiative is an exciting example of the way that  "for people throughout the world, America is a partner for a better life," as President Bush said in his recent State of the Union address.

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