The first Regional Action Plan for Health Security capacity-planning workshop was conducted in the Sidama Region from September 1–3, 2025, in Yirgalem town. The workshop highlighted that this planning exercise will pave the way for the effective and successful implementation of the country’s National Action Plan for Health Security.
In his opening remarks, Ato Ugamo Hanaga, Deputy Director General of the Sidama Regional Public Health Institute, emphasized that national health security capacity can only be effective when regional capacity is strengthened. He noted that the COVID-19 pandemic taught us that a threat in one part of the globe can quickly become a threat to the rest of the world. Therefore, mitigating public health concerns must be everyone’s responsibility. He also reaffirmed the region’s commitment to aligning with the national health security plan and implementing both the regional and national strategies.
Ato Bedilu Badego, Director of Public Health Emergency Management (PHEM) at the Sidama Regional Public Health Institute, underscored the importance of collaboration and partnerships in implementing the health security plan. He presented the findings of the Sidama Regional Health Security Capacity Assessment and stressed that the workshop is a key step toward strengthening multisectoral collaboration. He also recalled that the assessment was conducted based on the Joint Evaluation of Regional Health Security Capacity, aligned with the International Health Regulations (IHR) technical areas.
The Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) and its IHR partners have recently launched programs to strengthen subnational IHR health security capacity, which is crucial for the effective prevention, detection, and response to public health emergencies at regional and community levels. These efforts include conducting regional health security capacity assessments, followed by the development and implementation of regional health security plans such as the one currently underway in Yirgalem, Sidama Region.
This regional planning workshop marks a new milestone for Ethiopia, serving as a prototype that is expected to be replicated in the remaining 13 regions of the country soon.
More Information Sidama pubilic Health Institute
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ነፃ የስልክ መስመር፡ 7794
Web site: https://www.sphi.gov.et/
