REVIEW OF THE HEALTH SECTOR OF THE ETHIOPIAN FOURTH FIVE-YEAR PLAN

The team interviewed 32 persons including officials from govt agencies & foreign aid missions and Peace Corp doctors. In addition, they visited a hlth center, a hlth station & a hospital in Sidamo province. The 5-yr plan will expand basic hlth services by doubling the number of hlth stations from 500 to 1000 & upgrading their staffing with 2 trnd (2 yrs) hlth assistants per station. Team concludes that IEG financial resources are adequate for the proposed expansion & that substantial external resources are available as well. Accordingly, the team recommends that USAID be receptive to IEG requests for tech assistance in the following areas: mgmt, supply & supervision -- both at the ministry level and within the basic hlth services network; interministerial rural devlpmnt programs which combine inputs such as access roads, agriculture, water supply and health & sanitation; and a "hard" analysis of the hlth sector which includes comparison of strategic alternatives, cost-effectiveness analysis, replicability tests and output indicators. The team also recommends that USAID be willing to assist in coordinating activities undertaken by IEG governmental units, private voluntary organizations, missionary groups & intnatl organizations into a unified hlth effort. The report details hlth problems in Ethiopia & discusses objectives of its 5-yr plan. In addition, figures for IEG & non-IEG health inputs are provided. A bibliography of reference materials pertaining to the Ethiopian health sector is also included.