Global Health Expert Praises Ethiopia’s Outbreak Readiness and WASH Expansion

Addis Ababa, August 7, 2026 (ENA) —Ethiopia’s progress in strengthening outbreak preparedness, expanding water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure, and coordinating national health efforts has positioned the country to help drive innovative disease control strategies across Africa and Asia, a global health expert said.

In an exclusive interview with ENA, Dr. Catherine Makwe, a technical expert with the Global Task Force on Cholera Control Country Support Platform, highlighted the Ethiopian government's significant strides in enhancing its outbreak response capacity, particularly through the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI).

“The Ethiopian government has done a lot, with EPHI leading from the front,” Dr. Makwe said.

She also commended the growing capacity of subnational health bureaus to lead outbreak responses and monitor disease trends in their respective areas.

According to Dr. Makwe, one of Ethiopia’s key priorities should be the development of health and water infrastructure through a corridor-based approach.

She said such an approach could strengthen the WASH sector, which remains central to long-term public health protection.

“This is not just a health problem; it is also a problem of sustainable WASH,” she said, stressing that the corridor initiative could reinforce government efforts not only to control current disease outbreaks but also to prepare for future epidemics and pandemics.

Dr. Makwe described Ethiopia as a pioneer in national outbreak preparedness, noting that the country was among the first to develop a national outbreak plan.

She said the plan had created momentum for broader discussions on current priorities and future interventions.

“Ethiopia can take the leap forward in innovative approaches to disease control by thinking differently,” she said.

She added that changing environmental conditions were reshaping the nature of disease outbreaks, making climate change an increasingly important factor in public health preparedness.

She said the government’s focus on climate resilience should be integrated into national health planning.

“What we thought in the past decade has changed,” she said. “Now we are seeing climate change becoming a driver of outbreaks.”

The expert further encouraged Ethiopia to share its experience with other countries through South-South cooperation and cross-regional capacity building.

She said lessons from Ethiopia could benefit countries across Africa, Asia and other regions where the Country Support Platform operates.

She explained that the platform’s central mandate is to help countries strengthen coordinated national responses to disease outbreaks. Multisectoral cooperation, she said, is the foundation of effective disease prevention.

She also called for government agencies, donors and development partners to work in collaboration.

She said the platform brings together EPHI, the Federal Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Water and Energy and other stakeholders to coordinate action, mobilize resources and prevent duplication.

“Our aim is to support partners to think alike, implement the plan and build the capacity of Ethiopia’s workforce for long-term prevention,” the expert noted.