Welcome To Health Extension Department

To achieve universal primary health care coverage, Ethiopia has been implementing a successive Health Sector Development Plan since 1997. However, increasing the number of health care workers to achieve the WHO recommended density of 2.3 per 1,000 populations was not financially feasible in the country. As a solution, training of community health care worker was identified as the most effective strategies to address the prevailing health workforce shortages. In response to such a strategy, the Ethiopian government launched a national community health care program in 2003, called the Health Extension Program (HEP), with the objective of alleviating the critical shortage of health human resources and improving access of healthcare service to the rural population, especially women and children. 

The program was initially focusing on provision of services on 16 health extension packages for agrarian community. However, due to its importance the program was expanded to pastoral and urban communities too in 2006 and 2009, respectively, and the second-generation HEP has 18 essential health service packages. 

As a result of the program implementation, the country’s health indicators have been remarkably improved from one of the worst in Sub-Saharan Africa to amongst the standout performers over the las two decades. The Program has been continued to make significant contributions towards improved key health indicators including immunization, antenatal care, family planning, and postnatal care, potential health service coverage, as well as outpatient attendance per capital. 

Taking this national mission in to account, our college has been taking active participation on the training of well-equipped health extension professionals.