Public Health Network in South Ethiopia

The Norwegian Programme for Capacity Development in Higher Education and Research for Development (NORHED) recently told us that we have been awarded the project:  South Ethiopia Network of Universities in Public Health (SENUPH): improving women’s participation in post-graduate education. 

The vision of this project is to enhance the capacity of universities in south Ethiopia to train sufficient staff for the Region to carry out essential public health work, and do essential research to improve the health of the people living in South Ethiopia. This will be carried out by:

  • Establishing, and strengthening a network of the main universities in south Ethiopia doing teaching so the universities can increase their teaching capacity and train enough staff to meet the demands within the public health sector.
  • Substantially increasing the number of women with postgraduate education
  • Increasing the number of teachers at the universities in public health.
  • Strengthening the research capacity through PhD and Master’s programme so the research done in the region will aid in defining the future health policy.

This project has four integrated parts:

  • A PhD programme for all universities and located at Hawassa University
  • A master programme in Reproductive health at Dilla University
  • A master programme in Nutrition at Wolaita Soddo University and
  • A master programme in medical entomology (malaria control) at Arba Minch University).

By developing a network of the main universities in south Ethiopia we will address several important areas such as staff development, and enhance the human capacity in higher education, in public health, reproductive health, and nutrition and malaria control.

The Southern Nations, Nationalities  and Peoples Region in Ethiopia has a population of about 16 million people, representing  more than 50 ethnic groups that live in a variety of geographic and socioeconomic areas. The area is typical of Ethiopia with high population densities, high fertility and child mortality rates, and high maternal death rates.