FY15 Annual Performance Report: Strengthening Ethiopia’s Urban Health Program

(JSI). The program aims to improve the health status of the urban population in Ethiopia by reducing HIV/tuberculosis (TB)-related, and maternal, neonatal, and child mortality, and the incidence of communicable and non-communicable diseases (NCD). SEUHP was awarded to JSI on July 1, 2013, and extends through June 30, 2018, under Cooperative Agreement No. 663-A-13-00002. SEUHP supports and strengthens the Government of Ethiopia's Urban Health Extension Program (UHEP) by improving the quality, use, and management of community-level urban health and related services. In FY15, SEUHP provided technical support to the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH), Regional Health Bureaus (RHBs), City/Town Health Offices (C/THOs), and Urban Health Extension Professionals (UHE-ps) on the provision of direct services to urban beneficiaries and the facilitation of access to services through referrals, linkages, and defaulter tracing activities. During the reporting period, SEUHP updated the Core Public Health Training (CPHT) training modules for HIV, Maternal Newborn Child Health (MNCH), Family Planning/Reproductive Health (FP/RH), and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in line with the revised UHEP Implementation Manual. The program also finalized preparations to cascade training to UHE-ps and their supervisors. SEUHP provided technical support to UHE-ps who received CPHT on HIV, communication skills, and documentation, and conducted supportive supervision, coaching, and mentoring for all UHE-ps and their supervisors. In May 2015, SEUHP revised its FY15 work plan to focus implementation on the areas that would yield the greatest results. The revision responds to USAID's feedback that SEUHP should ensure that strategic objective and activities are linked to USAID/Ethiopia's Development Objective 2 of increasing access to quality health services. SEUHP identified and targeted resources and activities to priority populations and geographic areas within urban areas, emphasizing high-impact interventions in the areas of MNCH, FP/RH, HIV, and WASH. SEUHP has begun to observe signs of improvements and positive trends in performance. For instance, the HIV positivity rate ("yield") beginning from the third quarter (1.36 percent) showed improvement. The program has selected 14 towns for HIV and 18 towns for MNCH, with the MNCH towns also integrating WASH activities. SEUHP's efforts to strengthen the UHEP and improve access to quality health services are expected to continue in the next reporting period. SEUHP's technical support to the FMoH, RHBs, C/THOs, and UHE-ps has been instrumental in improving the quality, use, and management of community-level urban health and related services. The program's focus on high-impact interventions in MNCH, FP/RH, HIV, and WASH is expected to yield significant results in the coming months. SEUHP's commitment to working with country stakeholders at the national, regional, and city/town levels for a country-led managed and implemented response is also expected to contribute to the program's success. SEUHP's efforts to strengthen the UHEP and improve access to quality health services are expected to continue in the next reporting period. The program's focus on high-impact interventions in MNCH, FP/RH, HIV, and WASH is expected to yield significant results in the coming months. SEUHP's commitment to working with country stakeholders at the national, regional, and city/town levels for a country-led managed and implemented response is also expected to contribute to the program's success.