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Yale School of Public Health and the Clinton Foundation Launch Training Program for Ethiopian Healthcare Professionals

	Elizabeth Bradley, Ph.D., professor and head of the Health Management Program, Yale Director of the Ethiopian Hospital Management Initiative, recently traveled to Ethiopia to introduce a program to provide healthcare managers and workers with extensive training in hospital and healthcare management.

Researchers at the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH) recently traveled to Ethiopia to introduce a program to provide healthcare managers and workers with extensive training and practice in various areas of hospital and healthcare management.

The Professional Development Program is a component of the Ethiopian Hospital Management Initiative (EHMI) initiated by the Ethiopian Ministry of Health and led by the joined forces of the William J. Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative and YSPH.

The program is an integral piece of EHMI, which began at the request of Tedros Adhanom Ghebeysus, the Ethiopian Minister of Health, as part of efforts by the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative to expand and improve treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS.

"The Program is a natural fit with the overall goals of the EHMI program. It will reinforce the skills necessary for our Ethiopian partners to better understand how to address their critical healthcare needs," said Tim Dentry, EHMI Project Director.

Over 80 Ethiopian healthcare professionals from 14 public hospitals, Regional Health Bureaus, and the Federal Ministry of Health attended training. Led by YSPH professors, the training taught management skills and techniques that will improve access to, and delivery of, health care services to Ethiopia's 76 million people.

Upon completion of the training, the Ethiopian health care professionals will return to their respective hospitals where they have been working side-by-side since July with Fellows from the EHMI program to implement management improvements in their hospitals. The managers will receive ongoing training from Yale until they complete their projects and will receive a certificate from Yale University.

During the opening session of training, Professor of Public Health in Division of Health Policy and Administration (HPA) at YSPH and Director of the EHMI project at Yale, Elizabeth H. Bradley, Ph.D., said, "We are extremely pleased to be able to provide this training to the healthcare workers of Ethiopia. We are certain it will greatly augment their management skills and make great strides toward improving the hospital system."

In a country that spends only $1.50 per person on healthcare and has extensive acute care needs, Bradley said the hospitals are often the place of last resort for many and ensuring that they are as productive and efficient as possible is critical. "Nowhere is management as essential as in a resource-poor area," said Bradley. "We want to ensure that we are getting the most in terms of quality and efficiency for the scarce resources that are available."

After the training, Bradley and the team received a positive response from participants. "The method of problem-solving was particularly well received," said Bradley. "They found it helpful as an approach to solving some of the issues in their individual organizations. The program has bolstered the management team ideas and they now know quite a bit more about hospital management."

Tedros Adhanom Ghebeysus expressed his vision for the fellows and medical directors. "This is the year to experiment, study and move forward," he said. "Think outside the box, be creative, innovative and try new things. Then we will evaluate them and see what can be integrated into the longer-term sustainable system of health care Ethiopia is building."

Kari Hartwig, assistant clinical professor of public health in the Division of Global Health at YSPH said, "The Professional Development Program permits Yale to offer its skills beyond the classroom to healthcare practitioners in Ethiopia who are both in need and more importantly, enthusiastic to learn. It's a dynamic challenge and a natural fit for Yale as we expand our work in global health."

Bradley said the professional development program may lead to larger efforts to develop a master's of hospital administration degree in Ethiopia and create a new profession that can sustain the management capacity in health care that the country will need in the decades to come.

The initial training by Yale took place at Ghion Hotel in Addis Ababa October 9 - 10, 2006. Trainers included Bradley and Hartwig, Marguerite Callaway, M.S., M.B.A., lecturer in HPA, and Program Manager Josh Pashman.