Summary

In this study session you have learned that:

1. Ethiopia has radically changed the structure of its health service in order to focus on Primary Health Care and preventive services in the rural communities where most people live.
2. Ethiopia’s health delivery system is organised into a four-tier system. Its first level is the Primary Health Care Unit which is based around one Health Centre and five Health Posts serving a total of 25,000 rural people.
3. Primary Health Care is the lowest level of essential health care that is provided to the majority of the population of Ethiopia at a cost that the country and the community can afford. It mainly focuses on prevention and control of communicable diseases, and the promotion of health and wellbeing of individuals and families.
4. The Health Service Extension Programme (HSEP) is an innovative community-based programme. It is a country-specific health delivery system designed to reach the rural communities where most of the people live. It uses trained and salaried Health Extension Workers/Practitioners to help the community maintain its own health.