Haramaya University is prepared to admit the first Doctor of Public Health Program students who are expected to transform Ethiopia’s health system leadership
Haramaya University has finalized preparations to admit Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) program students with an innovative practice based public health training approaches within the Ethiopia’s public health systems.
The Ministry of Health has pledged its full support for the program, recognizing its potential to address critical challenges within the country’s health system.
A workshop held today, bringing together key stakeholders from the Ministry of Health, Haramaya University, Oromia Regional Health Bureau, Addis Ababa City Administration Health Bureau, Ethiopian Public Health Association, Ethiopian Public Health Officer’s Association and other stakeholders in Addis Ababa to discuss on the DrPH’s program training approaches and reaffirm the commitments and supports from each stakeholders.
Dr. Ahmed Mohammed, Chief Executive Director of Haramaya University’s College of Health and Medical Sciences, emphasized the program’s unique focus on developing professionals equipped to solve fundamental public health problems in Ethiopia. “This curriculum is designed to produce experts who can significantly contribute to improving public health leadership across the country,” he stated.
Dr. Ebba Mijena, Lead Executive Director for Academic Affairs at the Ministry of Education, urged higher education institutions to prioritize programs that address critical national issues like public health. He emphasized the importance of innovative training approaches aligned with the universities core mission and differentiated roles with continuous evaluation of the program’s outcomes.
Mr. Aseged Samuel, Lead Executive Officer of Human Resource Development at the Federal Ministry of Health, highlighted the program’s importance in addressing public health leadership within the Ethiopian Health systems. “By collaborating with Haramaya University on this DrPH training program, we aim to equip Public Health professionals with the required leadership skill who can effectively address public health challenges and transform the health systems” he said.
The DrPH program is a broad multidisciplinary degree that emphasizes the development of essential leadership, management, communication, and critical thinking skills. It provides a strong foundation in public health core function and roles and applies practice based training to equip professionals to tackle real-world challenges within the health system.
Dr. Lemesa Oljira, the DrPH program director at HU, emphasized the significance of this groundbreaking program in Ethiopia. “This type of program has not been previously available in our country,” he stated. “The initiation of DrPH training will improve the health system and help to address public health challenges through practice-based training approaches leading to producing competent Public health leaders who transform health system across the nation.”
The workshop featured presentations on the newly launched DrPH program and provided a platform for stakeholders to discuss the program’s implementation and express their commitment to its success.
Haramaya University Public & International Relations Directorate