ADDIS ABABA – August 28, 2024 (EPHI)- A leadership workshop was conducted here to enhance partnership between the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI), and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH), with support from the Norwegian Agency for Development and Cooperation (NORAD).
Opening the workshop Dr. Getachew Tollera, Deputy Director General of EPHI said that the existing collaboration of EPHI and NIPH, which started with a program named, Building Stronger Public Health Institutions and Systems (BIS) in 2021, would add value to advancing public health objectives. Dr. Getachew appreciated the strong collaboration of the two institutions and expressed hope that it would continue to grow.
Jenny Beate Møller, counselor at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Addis Abeba, provided the opening remarks on behalf of the Norwegian delegation. She appreciated the collaboration between EPHI and NIPH, and added that the Embassy will continue to support and encourage such collaborations.
Dr. Masresha Tessema, the director of the Nutrition, Environmental Health, and Non-communicable Disease Research Directorate at the EPHI, presented the collaborative projects between NIPH and EPHI, as well as the priorities of the latter. He also provided an overview of EPHI's development over time and its recent achievements, which include the establishment of the Climate Change, Health, and Nutrition Knowledge Hub.
Knut Nyfløt, Department Director of Global Health at NIPH highlighted the significance of the workshop in planning and identifying areas of collaboration of the next phase of the BIS project. He further said that NIPH would like to expand the partnership with EPHI and explore possibilities for more collaboration in climate and health and within other thematic areas such as prevention and control of infectious diseases, among others.
Mr. Knut Nyfløt stated, “Ethiopia is a priority country for building institutions and systems within the BIS project”. The BIS project is concluding its first phase in June 2025 and looks forward to continuing into a second phase, dependent on donor approval. “Following the successful completion of the first phase of BIS program, we hope to continue and expand our successful cooperation in the second phase,” he said.
EPHI and NIPH have solidified their relationship through BIS program. The BIS program aims to contribute to building competent and resilient health systems underpinned by strong public health institutions in six countries worldwide. Ethiopia is one of the four African countries benefiting from BIS project.
Dr. Haitham El-Noush, Head of Global Health section at NORAD indicated the key priorities of NORAD. He also appreciated the partnership between NIPHI and EPHI. He also indicated that “Ethiopia is one of the priority countries for global health cooperation and that the BIS program is important for NORAD as it aligns with Norwegian global health priorities on strengthening national health systems and institutions.
The workshop, attended by senior leadership members from all three institutions, was held at the National Training Center of EPHI. (EPHI)
