Health System
Health Facilities and Human Resources
The government is the main health care provider in Ethiopia. There are 138 hospitals, 635 health centers, 5,955 health posts, 1,206 health stations owned by the government, while there are 2264 private clinics, 246 pharmacies, 476 drug shops and 1,754 rural drug vendors.
The technical work force in service is around 40,000 (2,115 physicians, 715 health officers,17,845 nurses, 8901 health extension workers, 4,800 health assistants and 5,431 paramedicals), with one physician for 35,493 people and one nurse for 4206 people.
Access to primary health care services, as expressed in the potential health services coverage (92%), EPI coverage (75.6%) antenatal coverage (50.4%), has shown some increase over the past decade. However, a wide range of difference in the coverage of services and distribution of health facilities persists among regions as well as between urban and rural areas. The health care delivery has been highly affected by the inadequacy of primary health care facilities due to lack of skilled man power and finance. These are the major challenges the country is facing in its effort to reach the goal of universal coverage.
