Ethiopia’s NAPHS Highlights Progress and Plans Future Directions
With strong collaboration among government sectors, partners, and stakeholders, Ethiopia’s health security capacity has made notable progress. This year overall implementation has reflected a significant progress in the planned activities. This achievement is partly attributed to the improvement in the country’s Joint External Evaluation (JEE) score, which increased from 48% in 2016 to 61% in 2023.
This milestone was announced in Adama during the Annual National Action Plan for Health Security Review Meeting, which evaluated the 2017 EFY performance and outlined the 2018 EFY Annual Operational Plan. The event brought together national and international stakeholders committed to strengthening Ethiopia’s health security system.
Dr. Mesay Hailu, Director General of the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI), opened the meeting by emphasizing the importance of coordinated, evidence-based actions in safeguarding global and national health security. He noted that Ethiopia has entered a transformative stage with the implementation of a subnational health security assessment tool, which will serve as a foundation for developing regional health security action plans.
Dr. Mesay also called for stronger sectoral ownership and resource mobilization, including exploring new funding mechanisms to support the implementation of Ethiopia’s Second National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS).
Speaking on behalf of the International Health Regulations (IHR) and One Health (OH) Office of the EPHI, Dr. Feyesa Regasa highlighted the importance of the review meeting. “These gatherings are critical for assessing progress, identifying gaps, and developing strategies for continuous improvement,” he said. He also emphasized that shared operational indicators and a unified communication platform are key to enhancing coordination across all sectors.
Dr. Feyesa further underlined the role of health security as a pillar of sustainable development, reaffirming Ethiopia’s ongoing commitment to the NAPHS. “This comprehensive framework guides our preparedness and response to infectious diseases, biological threats, and systemic vulnerabilities,” he added.
Keynote addresses were delivered by country directors and senior representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Resolve to Save Lives, and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). All reaffirmed their commitment to supporting Ethiopia’s NAPHS implementation.
The four-day national meeting, which kicked off yesterday in Adama, will continue with detailed reviews of this year’s implementation across 19 technical areas and will culminate in the development of next year’s NAPHS action plan.