CAIRO: The United States has announced a new plan to help boost Ethiopia's health sector and workforce. Speaking at the 2nd annual meeting of Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) in Addis Ababa on Tuesday, US Ambassador to Ethiopia Donald E. Booth said the US plans to provide support through President Barack Obama's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to the country. Ambassador Booth said supporting Ethiopia's efforts to strengthen the health workforce “has been a top priority for the US.” The Ambassador continued to say that the US government “is also providing additional resources to improve pre-service for medical schools other than those participating in MEPI.” PEPFAR is now supporting the government's efforts to ensure a quality education for the next generation of doctors. According to the US government, the project supports over 4.5 million people on antiretroviral treatment and incidence of new infections has decreased in 22 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. “The world is now on a path towards the elimination of mother to child transmission of HIV and the goal of an AIDS free generation is now a realistic aspiration for all,” the ambassador said. In a message delivered through a representative, Ethiopia's Health Minister Tedros Adhanom said training capacity of medical schools and other health science colleges is being expanded in the country. Tedros said enrollment capacity of medical schools “has grown to 3100 in the last academic year from 336 in 2004/05 academic year.” The number of public medical schools (university and hospital-based) has also increased to 23 from five in the same period.
