Fact Ethiopia

The main health problems of the country, as in any developing country, are communicable diseases, (due to lack of basic sanitation), and malnutrition. Thus, the following health indicators show that the health status of the country is very low:-

- Infant mortality rate per 1000 live births 144
- Child (1-4 years) mortality per 1000 children 92
- Life expectancy at birth in years 46
- Crude birth rate per 1000 population 47
- Crude death rater per 1000 population 18
- % Annual rate of population growth 2.9

The reasons why the health service system, prior to 1966 E.C. (1974), was not able to solve the above mentioned health problems of the country were:-

- Most of the health institutions were found in the few urban areas and were concerned with the curative rather than the preventive aspects.
- The community involvement was almost nil.
- The health budget was very low.
- The shortage of trained manpower was acute.
The numbers of health institutions prior to the 1966 E.C. (1974) revolution were:-
- Health stations 650
- Health centers 93
- Hospitals 84, with 8624 beds

This made possible a health service coverage of only 15% - 20% of the total population. But just a decade later in 1974 E.C. (1982), the potential health service coverage for the whole country has grown to 45% of the total population.

(Source: National Atlas of Ethiopia)