Hygiene and environmental health development in Ethiopia

Historical information about hygiene practice among the Ethiopian population is sparse. We will note only the organisational aspects, as follows.

1. A formal health service was organised in the Ministry of the Interior in 1908. Hygiene and sanitation in public health was a single service.
2. The Ministry of the Interior had a Proclamation and Legal Notices to exercise sanitation (urine handling, refuse and excreta management, street sweeping) in 1942–1943.
3. The Ministry of Public Health was created in 1947. It organised Municipal and Provincial Public Health services to run both curative and public health. Hygiene and sanitation were the focus of these organisations.
4. Late in the 1970s, safe water supply and sanitation became components of primary healthcare.
5. In the 1990s, the new Constitution in 1995 and a new Health Policy in 1993 were designed to reflect the social and health needs of the Ethiopian population. Hygiene, sanitation and environmental matters are stated aims.
6. In early 2000 the Health Extension Programme was designed and integrated into the Health Sector Development Programme as a tool to enhance hygiene and sanitation in rural and urban areas.