Think biG!

Urge- DevWire

News. Analysis. Events

Urge Inside Health | UrgeDevWire

A weekly development news platform published by UrgeDevWire, produced by Urge Communications. Covering wider East African region.

Inside Health News Desk| East Africa. Urge- DevWire

Ethiopia's public health institute earns WHO recognition as continental model

Addis Ababa, 17 July 2026 –

The World Health Organization said it will formally seek concurrence from Ethiopia's Ministry of Health to designate the Ethiopian Public Health Institute as a WHO Collaborating Centre for Public Health Emergency Management, a recognition expected to elevate the institute into a global hub for emergency management training and capacity building. Francis Chisaka Kasolo, WHO's Representative to Ethiopia, said WHO and the Pan African Sanitary and Veterinary Medicine Bureau have also launched certification of the institute's Emergency Management Team, which upon completion would make Ethiopia only the second country in Africa with an internationally certified team.

Africa CDC Director General Jean Kaseya described the institute as a continental centre of excellence, saying the agency was committed to replicating Ethiopia's public health model across the continent. Mesay Hailu, the institute's Director General, said Ethiopia has intensified Ebola surveillance at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport and other entry and exit points, with more than seven million travellers screened this year through a digital surveillance system operating at four international airports and land border crossings.

The recognition reflects growing regional and continental confidence in Ethiopia's public health leadership, officials said.

Source: World Health Organization and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Inside Health News Desk| East Africa. Urge- DevWire