Ethiopia to chair UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board and Global Fund for one year

Addis Ababa, July 1, 2009 (Addis Ababa) - Ethiopia will be chairing the Global Fund and Programme Coordinating Board of the United Nations AIDS Program (UNAIDS) for one year taking over the chair from the US, the Ministry of Health disclosed.

 

Public relations service director with the Ministry Of Health, Ahmed Emano said Ethiopia was elected chair of the Global Fund board last month June 2009, and to the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board last December 2008 owing to the country’s commitment geared toward expanding health services across the nation.

Implementing sound health policy in the country as well as the efficiency and competence of the executive body in the health sector also contributed a lot for electing the nation as chairman of the board.

According to the director, Ethiopia manages to reduce HIV/AIDS expansion rate in the country to 2 percent from 7 percent previously. The nation also distributed more than 21 million canopies among 10,000 localities over the last six years in order to prevent the outbreak of malaria.

The family planning service coverage of the nation has reached over 51 percent at present, he said, the country has trained and deployed more than 30,000 health extension workers across the nation.

The nation envisages constructing 15,000 health posts across the country until 2015, he said, adding the country has so far constructed 12,182 health posts.

Trans-4:29-4:58 pm