Non-Communicable Diseases: The Next Frontier for Community Health Workers

Catherine Kane is a technical officer on the WHO Health Workforce team, with a portfolio that includes knowledge management, network engagement, community health workers and the Global Health and Care Workers Compact. Prior to joining WHO, Catherine worked for the Red Cross Movement locally, nationally and internationally, and has held additional policy, humanitarian diplomacy, learning, public health and emergency management positions in national government agencies and health advocacy organizations. She is a passionate advocate for community health.

Frehiwot Nigatu began her academic journey at Jimma University, where she pursued a medical degree. Following her passion for public health, she continued her education at the Addis Continental Institute of Public Health, earning a Master’s in Public Health. Frehiwot’s professional career began at the Ministry of Health, where she was appointed as the National HIV Prevention, Care, and Treatment Focal Person. Her dedication and expertise led to her promotion as the Assistant Director for Disease Prevention and Control. Frehiwot’s impact in the health sector expanded as she transitioned to roles that focused on policy and health system strengthening. She served as a Policy and Health System Strengthening Advisor and later as the Service Delivery Director for the USAID Community HIV Care and Treatment project at Project HOPE. In these roles, she worked diligently to improve HIV care and treatment services, influencing health policies and strategies. Demonstrating exceptional leadership, Frehiwot became the Executive Director for the International Institute for Primary Health Care -Ethiopia (IPHC-E), where she served for four years. In this role, she led initiatives to enhance Primary health care and community health systems the region and globally. She is also the advisory board member for the institute. Currently, Frehiwot Nigatu is the Chief of Party for the USAID Empowered Communities Activity at Project HOPE. In this capacity, she oversees the implementation of strengthening community systems and platforms for a better RMNCAH-N outcome. Frehiwot is deeply passionate about community health, gender equality, and strengthening health systems. Her work reflects a commitment to improving health outcomes and empowering communities through sustainable health interventions. Frehiwot Nigatu’s career is marked by her unwavering dedication to public health and her impactful contributions to Primary health care systems and community empowerment. Her leadership and vision continue to inspire and drive significant advancements in public health.

Dr. Henry Perry has five decades of engagement in global primary health care and community health work. He contributed to the establishment of the International Institute for Primary Health Care –Ethiopia. He is an author or co-author of more than 250 publications. His teaching and mentoring of students have been widely acclaimed. His massive open online course (MOOC) on Coursera, Health for All through Primary Health Care, has reached more than 85,000 people around the world (available at: https://www.coursera.org/instructor/~693038). He is semi-retired and continues as a Senior Associate in the Department of International Health at the Johns Hopkins University.

Peter Hill is Associate Professor, Global Health Systems in the School of Public Health at The University of Queensland. He is a Public Health Physician by training and completed his PhD at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, examining the emergence of global health policy and its translation into country level policies and program. His research and teaching interests currently focus on global health governance, heath in the Sustainable Development Goals, health systems strengthening and Indigenous health in Australia. He has extensive research and health systems experience across West Africa, Southeast Asia and the Pacific, undertaking consultancies for AusAID, GIZ, Australian Red Cross, the GAVI Alliance, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria and the World Health Organization. 

Dr. Solomon Zewdu is Senior Executive Resident for Strategy and Planning at the Mastercard foundation on enterprise level social impact investments. Before transitioning to MCF, he spent seven years at the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation as DD in the Africa office. He is a Medical Doctor with extensive expertise in global health, resilient health system designs, disaster preparedness response among many other career duties. He coordinated the Pan African SARSCoV2 BMGF investments and now help managed the MCF Saving lives and livelihood partnership. He shapes partnerships in workforce development, Pandemic preparedness, vaccine, therapeutics and diagnostics manufacturing and the full ecosystem. His 26 years career spans across the public and private sector, worked with multi-sectoral ministries, governments, DoD, academia, implementing partners and philanthropy.  He is a decorated Lieutenant Colonel of the US Airforce and has run various humanitarian and disaster mitigation missions.

Dr. Eskinder Wolka is a public health specialist working as National Primary Health Care
support lead at the International Institute for Primary Health Care- Ethiopia (IPHC-E). He
graduated in Bachelor of Science degree in public health from Haramaya University, Ethiopia
and obtained MPH and PhD in Public Health from Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. He has
more than 12 years of experience in Public Health training, research and program management.
He has taken different roles in various health interventions evaluation and assessment activities
in health system and has over 46 publications as author and co-author in peer reviewed journals
in various public health and primary health care areas.
As national primary health care support lead for the IPHC-E, Dr Eskinder leads capacity building
training for program leaders and health care workers at health system to contribute to the
establishment of a stronger Primary Health Care system in Ethiopia. Dr Eskinder is also
responsible for coordinating provision of support to Ministry of Health in enhancing PHC
improvement initiatives. He coordinates the activities of Woreda Innovation Center (WIC), an
initiative that aims on generating innovative interventions to test and replicate in carefully
selected districts. Consolidated learning and best practices from WIC is then transferred to other
primary health care facilities for scale-up

Tigist Astale is a research officer at the International Institute for Primary Health Care-Ethiopia. She provides technical and scientific support to the research initiatives of the Institute, and synthesize the evidence required for the formulation and implementation of PHC programs. She also oversees research projects that are funded by the Institute.

Tigist has an extensive background working in research projects with a focus on community health problems. As a strong believer in the power of scientific evidence for program improvement, she is continually engaged in writing, distributing, and publishing research findings for public use.

Dr. Mohammed Abseno is recently employed as a Research assistant at the International Institute for Primary Health Care-Ethiopia. He has worked as a clinician and health manager in the southern part of Ethiopia while he was a general practitioner. He contributed a lot on HIV and TB control programs while he was working at the Arbaminch hospital in addition to his clinical career.
After his transfer to St. Peter Specialized hospital and completing his second degree in public health, he served as the Head of Research, Training and Quality office for more than eight years and as a researcher for several years.

He has an excellent communication capacity and respect for clients coming for any support and advice regarding research proposal writing, conducting researches and final write up of research papers. He has publications in different areas of public health issues. He has also served as a clinical trial coordinator where a short regimen for MDR-TB was compared with the long duration WHO regimen. This research has shortened the 20 months treatment to the shorter 9 months regimen. He has great capacity in writing project proposals.

Hiwot Tadesse is currently serves as Admin & Finance Manager for the International
Institute for Primary Health Care – Ethiopia (IPHC-E). Hiwot is a seasoned professional
with strong financial and operations management, grant management for different
projects funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Global Fund, Buffet Foundation,
CIFF, AHDP, FHS, and DFID. She has more than 10 years of experience, largely focused
on Grant, Financial, HR, administration and operations management.
Prior to assuming her current position, Hiwot served as Finance and Administration,
Senior Accountant, Credit Administrator, Customer Service officer and as consultant on
financial strength & Loan Recovery for different organizations & individuals at South
Sudan, Kenya and extensively in Ethiopia. In these roles, Hiwot oversaw multiple
organization & programs, maintaining strong relationships with a wide range of donors,
government offices, Plc.’s and different NGO’s and She has a professional experience
implemented and evaluated numerous grant. financial, IT, procurements, Human
Resource, Property Management, event/program coordination, she has exceptional
interpersonal skills with high-quality administration & financial management program
coordination.
When not traveling, Hiwot enjoys nature and reading, walking with silence and planning
for the next adventure.

Animut Mesfin is a system librarian and ICT expert at the International Institute for Primary Health Care – Ethiopia. He has been working as an ICT expert for 10 years since 2010. He also have experiences working as a senior system developer and administrator at Bahir Dar university. Being placed in this role helped him develop some of his best professional qualities, such as ability to work in a team, aptitude to deal with people in all honesty and the skill to develop and administer web applications.

Mr. Biruh Alemnew is a technologically inclined health profession education expert whose experience is mainly focused on digital learning and curriculum development for both pre-service and in-service trainings. Prior to joining the International Institute for Primary Health Care – Ethiopia as on Online Training Manager, he worked for St’ Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College as a medical education program coordinator for e-learning, and curriculum development and revision programs. He also has a good track record in developing interactive digital courses for different organizations including the Ethiopian Ministry of Health. He previously worked as a clinician and a case team leader for 5 years at a primary hospital in the southern Ethiopia.

As an online training manager at IPHC-E, Mr. Biruh has been setting up and managing the learning system of the Institute. His skill in managing various e-learning tools has been proven by the exceptional work in the design and development of digital courses for both national and global audiences.

Tirsit Mehari works as a Global PHC Lead at the International Institute for Primary Health care -Ethiopia (IPHC-E) where she is making a strong effort to strengthen the Primary health care systems in Low- and Middle-Income countries (LMICs).

She is leading different capacity building activities including trainings, webinars, capacity assessment and technical supports in different interest areas of the LMICs.

Tirsit has been working as A/Program Coordinator for LIP-H at IPHC-E/MoH, during which she had a great contribution in coordinating the different components of the Program, provision of leadership & Strategic Problem-Solving Skill trainings and Coaching the trainees. Tirsit has been working as Maternal and Child health advisor at Addis Ababa health bureau, and as a National preservice education team leader at Ministry of Health for five years. She has been also working as lecturer at University of Gondar and Dessie health science college for a total of Seven years.

Luidina Hailu is a communications and advocacy expert who acquires a strong interpersonal skill honed by a multilingual capacity that enables to bridge language gaps, build deep and meaningful relationships with foreign communities and develop target presentations to communicate key messaging and initiatives in a people-centered profession.

As a Primary Health Care advocacy expert for the International Institute for Primary Health Care – Ethiopia, Mrs. Luidina raised public awareness about the fundamental role of Primary Health Care and Community Health Programs as means for achieving Universal Health Coverage through preparation and dissemination of advocacy materials and organization of advocacy meetings with decision makers and leaders. She has also been capitalizing on several meetings, conferences and workshop to strongly advocate for the programing, implementation of Primary Health Care to various countries’ policy makers, health programmers and health professionals.

As the communications expert for the International Institute for Primary Health Care – Ethiopia, she has been responsible for handling all communications sent to the public and has created and implemented several multi-channel communication strategies in order to lift the profile and visibility of the Institute. Her creativeness and passion for designing are reflected by her ability to craft, write and launch original, entertaining, adhering yet simple on-message materials to meet organizational goals. In a people-centered profession, being multilingual (English, French, Amharic) makes her a good asset to the institute in terms of internationally and nationally, delivering public speeches regarding the Institutes’ activities to a wide range of audiences.

Emebet has varied work experience in the voluntary sector both in the UK and Ethiopia. She has been building the IPHC-E Resource Center from the ground up. The Center aims to be a global hub of resources relating to primary health care to share knowledge, information and promising practices. Using the knowledge management framework, Emebet is engaged in strengthening the information hub.

Prof. Getnet Mitike Kassie is an MD and holds an MPH and PhD in public health. He is a Senior Researcher at IPHC-E with extensive experience in health research, teaching and consultancy services and holds an honorary adjunct professor position at Bahir Dar University. He leads the Implementation Research section of the Knowledge Generation and Management theme with a strategic objective of enhancing capacity of implementation research for informing policy and program improvement of Primary Health Care. His work focuses on identification of implementation gaps, documentation of programs, generation, synthesis and sharing of evidence to inform PHC systems. He disseminates evidence through publications such as issue/policy briefs, PHC digests, peer reviewed articles, books and makes consultations by holding dissemination workshops, seminars and meetings with policy makers, implementers, researchers and think tank groups. He collaborates with the Ministry of Health, non-governmental organizations, national universities, global partners and research institutions

Anteneh Zewdie is a seasoned Public Health professional with fifteen years of experience in Global Health Leadership and International Development. He has led and managed the successful implementation several programs such as Health System Strengthening (HSS), Leadership Development, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH), Nutrition, WaSH and Communicable Disease Prevention among others. He has worked with international organizations like AIM Initiative, Center for Creative Leadership, Kissito Healthcare, Samaritan’s Purse and World Vision in Ethiopia, South Sudan, Uganda, USA and Ghana. He served at different capacities starting as HIV Response Facilitator; then progressing as Program Supervisor, Assessment Coordinator, Country Director, Regional Program Director for Africa and Chief Executive Officer.

He has proven experience in starting up organizations and opening new country offices, strategy development, development and deployment of teams, establishing systems and process, mobilizing resources, designing and implementing programs. He had secured grants from international, bilateral and multilateral organizations such as Global Fund, World Blank, UNOCHA, UNICEF, WFP and USAID. He has a Bachelor degree in Public Health from Debub University, Master’s degree in Public Health (MPH) from University of Gondar and Doctor of Literature and Philosophy (PhD) from University of South Africa. Currently, he serves as Director of Programs at the Institute of Primary Health Care – Ethiopia.

Dr. Svea Closser is a medical anthropologist who is Associate Professor in the Department of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her research, funded by organizations including the National Science Foundation, the World Health Organization, the National Institutes of Health, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, focuses on the social relations shaping Primary Health Care, particularly the experiences of Community Health Workers. She is author of academic books published by Vanderbilt University Press and numerous academic articles in journals including the American Journal of Public Health, Social Science and Medicine, and BMJ Global Health. Dr. Closser is also a committed educator and coauthor of two textbook-readers on medical anthropology and global health.

Peter Hill is Associate Professor, Global Health Systems in the School of Public Health at The University of Queensland. He is a Public Health Physician by training and completed his PhD at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, examining the emergence of global health policy and its translation into country level policies and program. His research and teaching interests currently focus on global health governance, heath in the Sustainable Development Goals, health systems strengthening and Indigenous health in Australia. He has extensive research and health systems experience across West Africa, Southeast Asia and the Pacific, undertaking consultancies for AusAID, GIZ, Australian Red Cross, the GAVI Alliance, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria and the World Health Organization.

Uta Lehmann is professor and former director of the School of Public Health at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa. She is a social scientist by training and has worked in public health and health personnel education for over 30 years. Her interests and expertise lie in health policy and systems research, HRH, and qualitative research. Her research projects have included a focus on understanding how relationships, power and politics impact health systems function, and exploring ways to support the voice and capacity of frontline providers. She has published extensively on the importance of community health systems and the role of community health workers, and has led capacity strengthening initiatives for HRH. She coordinates a WHO Collaborating Centre for research and training in HRH.

Catherine Kane is a technical officer on the WHO Health Workforce team, with a portfolio that includes knowledge management, network engagement, community health workers and the Global Health and Care Workers Compact. Prior to joining WHO, Catherine worked for the Red Cross Movement locally, nationally and internationally, and has held additional policy, humanitarian diplomacy, learning, public health and emergency management positions in national government agencies and health advocacy organizations. She is a passionate advocate for community health

Dr. Meike Schleiff is a researcher and educator with extensive experience working on community health and community engagement, primary health care, curriculum development and mentorship models, and health equity. She brings learning, implementation and systems perspectives to bear on her work. She is working on research agenda setting, PHC and universal health coverage portfolios, and supporting the Alliance HPSR’s online course development and implementation. She holds a master’s and a doctoral degree in health systems from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where she also served as a faculty member for five years leading a portfolio of implementation research, programme evaluation and institutional strengthening projects.

Dr. Kesetebirhan (Kesete) Admasu joined Big Win Philanthropy in January 2019 as CEO, after serving as CEO of the RBM Partnership to End Malaria. He served as Minister of Health of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia from 2012 – 2016. Prior to his appointment as Minister, Dr. Kesete served as State Minister for the Health Programs and Director General of the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention General Directorate in the Ministry. In his capacity as Director General, Dr. Kesete oversaw health sector reform and led the implementation of the country’s flagship Health Extension Program (HEP), which improves the quality and availability of primary health care services through community-based health workers. He has held a number of prominent positions within regional and international organizations in the health sector, including serving as Chair of the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Committee for Africa, Chair of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Ministerial Committee on Health, and Member of the Board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. In recognition of his contribution to reproductive health, he was selected as a 2016 Winner of “120 Under 40,” an initiative organized by the Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health.

Dr. Abnet Zeleke currently serves as the Executive Director of the International Institute for Primary Health Care – Ethiopia. Prior to this role, he served as an advisor to the Minister within the Ministry of Health seconded by the Clinton Health Access Initiative. During his time, he coordinated and supported numerous emergency responses, including those for COVID-19, conflict, and conflict-affected communities, as well as leading the Multi-sectoral Engagement Team.
Furthermore, he was the focal point of the Ministry of Health for responses concerning migrants, returnees, and refugees. His collaboration with various UN agencies, notably the IOM, UNOPS, and UNHCR, was instrumental in coordinating health interventions for these vulnerable populations.

MINISTER OF HEALTH, FEDERAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ETHIOPIA