Southern Ethiopia - Gwent Health Link

Aims and intended outcomes of the Exemplar Health Centre project

The Link’s overall aims and intended outcomes, of improving healthcare provision for the rural population of southern Ethiopia, relate to the United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goals and also reflect the objectives of the Ethiopian Government’s Health Sector Strategic Plan 2005/06-2009/10. The Exemplar Health Centre project applies the Link’s aims and intended outcomes within the context of the Health Centres in the villages of Yirgacheffe, Alaba and Wondogenet. Each Health Centre has a catchment population of approximately 100,000. The Link is working to achieve positive outcomes through the provision of education, training, resources and support for these Health Centres and the staff working in them. The local community is encouraged to participate and the whole ethos is one of a strong partnership between the Gwent and Ethiopian teams. There are longer term aims of establishing each Health Centre as a ‘Centre of Excellence/Exemplar’ and to expand the programme to include more Health Centres.

Specifically, the aims of the Exemplar Health Centre project are:

• to provide continuing education for healthcare professionals in order to enhance their knowledge and skills
• to improve the resources in the Health Centres so that the environment of care and care delivery is improved
• to promote each Health Centre to the local community so that they support it and access the available healthcare

Intended outcomes include:

• together with Ethiopian partners (local community and Health Centre staff), identify training and resource needs
• provide ongoing support and skills training
• enable Ethiopian partners to take full ownership of the work
• establish each Health Centre as a 'Centre of Excellence/Exemplar'
• in the longer term, expand the programme to include more Health Centres