Bishoftu, Ethiopia – From July 9 to 12, the ILO PROSPECTS Programme, in collaboration with Ethiopian Health Insurance Services (EHIS) and UNHCR Ethiopia, conducted an intensive four-day training session on Social Health Protection. This event brought together 40 key players, including policymakers and administrators from various Ethiopian health and social organizations, with the goal of enhancing the nation’s health financing and social health protection systems.
The training was a collaborative effort aimed at equipping Ethiopian social health protection actors with the necessary knowledge and experience to fortify their systems. Attendees included representatives from EHIS, workers and employers’ organizations, UNHCR Ethiopia, the Refugee and Returnees Service (RRS), the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs (MOWSA), the Ministry of Health (MoH), and regional health bureaus. Among the 40 participants, seven were women, reflecting a commitment to gender inclusivity in this vital sector.
The ILO tailored the training to address the specific needs of Ethiopia, identified through joint efforts with EHIS and UNHCR. Participants delved into global best practices and explored potential partnerships with other social protection actors. This customization ensured that the training was not only relevant but also practical for the Ethiopian context.
The training drew upon key ILO instruments, such as the Equality of Treatment of Nationals and Non-Nationals in Social Security Convention, 1962 (No. 118) and the Employment and Decent Work for Peace and Resilience Recommendation, 2017 (No. 205). These instruments underscore the importance of extending social protection to displaced persons and refugees. Additionally, the Social Protection Floors Recommendation, 2012 (No. 202) reaffirms that social protection is both a human right and an essential element for development and progress.
Stephen Opio, Chief Technical Advisor at the ILO, emphasized the dual focus of the training: knowledge transfer and leadership development. “The training wasn’t just about knowledge transfer,” he noted. “It also focused on nurturing leadership qualities required to inspire collective action and drive necessary reforms in Social Health Protection for all, in Ethiopia.”
Ethiopia hosts over 1.1 million refugees and internally displaced persons, making the extension of social protection to these populations a critical issue. Tesfaye Worku, Director General of EHIS, highlighted the Ethiopian government’s commitment to universal health coverage. He pointed out that health insurance is a crucial reform for providing financial protection to rural and urban informal sector citizens.
“The government established EHIS and the necessary legal frameworks, including the Community Based Health Insurance (CBHI) proclamation and Social Health Protection (SHI) regulations, to ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of CBHI schemes nationwide,” Tesfaye explained. He also stressed the importance of capacity building for EHIS staff to strengthen the overall health insurance system and extend coverage to more citizens.
Key Objectives and Outcomes
The training aimed to enhance participants’ abilities in several key areas:
- Monitoring and analyzing the performance of Ethiopia’s social health protection systems against international benchmarks.
- Identifying priorities for reform and developing financing strategies for social health protection systems.
- Leading policy development and crafting multi-stakeholder engagement strategies.
- Addressing challenges in extending social protection coverage to the informal economy, migrants, and refugees.
In his concluding remarks, Stephen Opio reiterated that universal coverage and access to social protection are foundational to ending poverty and fostering shared prosperity. He called on participants to:
- Initiate a national dialogue with relevant stakeholders.
- Identify gaps in social protection.
- Determine strategies to address these gaps collectively.
Funded by the Government of the Netherlands, this training was delivered through the PROSPECTS Programme, a global partnership aiming to improve access to education, social protection, and decent work for host communities and forcibly displaced people. The success of this training marks a significant step towards stronger social health protection systems in Ethiopia, promising a more secure and equitable future for all its citizens.
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