From January 16-18, 2013, ahead of the African Union summit, the Government of Ethiopia convened a meeting of African Ministers of Health and global experts aimed at accelerating reductions in preventable child deaths through sharper national plans and improved monitoring and evaluation.
Since 1990, the number of child deaths in sub-Saharan Africa has dropped by 39%. Many African countries are within reach of the 2015 millennium development goal to reduce the under-five mortality rate by two thirds. Yet even with the availability of proven, inexpensive, high-impact interventions for maternal, newborn, and child health, their adoption is slow and high rates of childhood illness and death persist in a number of countries.
Since 1990, the number of child deaths in sub-Saharan Africa has dropped by 39%. Many African countries are within reach of the 2015 millennium development goal to reduce the under-five mortality rate by two thirds. Yet even with the availability of proven, inexpensive, high-impact interventions for maternal, newborn, and child health, their adoption is slow and high rates of childhood illness and death persist in a number of countries. In sub-Saharan Africa 1 in 8 children die before they reach their fifth birthday.
Today, a five-year, $100 million grant agreement was signed by the Ministry of Health of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) and UNICEF, at the premises of the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH). H.E. Dr. Kesetebirhan Admasu, Minister of Health, H.E. Donald E. Booth, U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia, and Dr. Peter Salama, UNICEF Representative to Ethiopia, signed the new agreement to redouble efforts to prevent and control malaria in Ethiopia, notably in the most affected Oromia Region.
It is my pleasure to represent the United States Government and the American people at this grant signing ceremony for the Sustaining Malaria Reduction Interventions in Ethiopia program. First, I would like to begin by congratulating Dr. Kesetebirhan, on his promotion to Minister of Health and thank him for his long-standing commitment and contribution to public health and especially to malaria control efforts in Ethiopia.
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