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Analyses Spotlight Both Progress and Inequities in Ethiopia

Posted on February 10, 2026 Posted By: Countdown Admin Categories: What's New

Ethiopia has implemented various strategies and programs during the last two decades to improve the access of the health services to its citizens. While Ethiopia has demonstrated “exemplar” status in expanding access to underserved and rural populations, current data reveals a bimodal health landscape: Rapid progress in central and urban regions, contrasted with stagnation and conflict-driven backsliding in pastoralist and fragile areas. Those were some of the key messages conveyed during an event in December 2025 when the Ethiopia country collaboration team held a dissemination meeting in Addis Ababa.

Although gaps among the subgroups have narrowed, targeted efforts are urgently needed to address persistent regional and socioeconomic inequalities to achieve equitable maternal and child health coverage, alongside strengthening maternal awareness on the health care service, presenters concluded.

The presenters also noted that:

  • Data suggest that quality of care remains an “unfinished agenda” for maternal and newborn health services. For example, critical gaps remain in service readiness and provision of some clinical services.
  • Through the Countdown annual meeting process and other analyses, the country team has strengthened the use of routine health facility data as a reliable tool for monitoring.

The enablers of Ethiopia’s RMNCH progress include:

  • Political commitment and governance: High-level leadership and decentralized systems.
  • Infrastructure and supplies: Strategic expansion of facilities and a government-led push for medical supply availability.
  • Data-driven decisions: Modernization of health information systems to facilitate better resource allocation.
  • Community literacy: Grassroots health education initiatives that empower pregnant women and families to seek and utilize services effectively.

In attendance were key leadership representatives from the Ethiopian Ministry of Health, the Regional Health Bureaus, the regional public health research institute, academics, researchers, and partners working in maternal and child health.

A primary consensus among workshop participants was the imperative to institutionalize evidence-based decision-making by systematically integrating research findings into the Ministry of Health’s strategic frameworks. The Ministry of Health executive leadership noted that the assessment provided a vital diagnostic of the current health system, offering a dual-lens perspective. It validated the efficacy of existing strategies while simultaneously highlighting the systemic gaps that impede the achievement of national and international targets.

Access the resources shared at the event:

The Ethiopia Countdown to 2030 collaboration team is composed of representatives from the Ministry of Health, Ethiopian Public Health Institute, the African Population and Health Research Center, the University of Manitoba, and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

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