Contributions, Prospects, and Challenges of Health Professionals Associations in Ethiopia: The Case of the Ethiopian Public Health Association (EPHA)

Abstract

Ethiopia has come a long way in improving the health status of its people, evidenced by achievements or remarkable progress made in the/towards the achievement of MDGs, other health and health related indicators.The Ethiopian Public Health Association (EPHA) is a health professional association that envisions the attainment of an optimal standard of health for the people of Ethiopia. It promotes better health services to the public and high professional standards through advocacy, professional competence, relevant policies and effective networking. EPHA is committed to improve the health and living status of the people of Ethiopia through dedicated and active involvement of the organization and its member and through collaboration with stakeholders. The main objective of the study is to assess prospects and the contributions of EPHA in the country health delivery system towards fulfilling the country MDG for health. Specifically the survey designed to answers questions such as: their contributions in the health delivery system, challenges particular to government policies and procedure, financial sustainability and to suggest recommendations for further improvement in the health delivery system. The majority of respondents strongly agree / agree with the statement of the working environment at EPHA is facilitative and conducive for their daily activities but the internal human resource at EPHA is not quite enough and the existing government policy is not supportive to accomplish day to day activities. The EPHA members did not contribute enough as technical and financial support to achieve the organizational goals and objective. Fund raising from local source, government policy and procedure and members engagement are the most frequently mentioned challenges by study participants. Capacity building for the employees and EPHA members, continuous dialogue with government and stakeholders are recommended for future better involvement of the associations in the country health delivery system.