Yale Program To Improve Healthcare in Ethiopia

NEW HAVEN, CT – The Yale Global Health Leadership Institute (GHLI) has launched the expansion of its pioneering Masters in Hospital and Healthcare Administration (MHA) degree program to Addis Ababa University (AAU) in Ethiopia. 

The program, initiated in 2008 at Jimma University, has already provided 23 senior Ethiopian health care professionals with the necessary leadership skills and management tools to improve the quality of health care for the people of Ethiopia. Eighteen students have been admitted into the new AAU MHA degree program. Through training and research programs at both participating universities, students learn how to improve efficiency and the quality of health in hospitals and other health facilities.

“The MHA program is integral to improving the quality of health care for the Ethiopian people. Students learn new skills that enable them to better manage challenges and help our hospitals and health care delivery systems better treat patients and save lives,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Ethiopian minister of health.

The MHA is a two-year educational program that provides each student with innovative techniques for managing hospitals and other health facilities through courses ranging from operations to financial management. The goal of the program is to produce a network of professional chief executive officers committed to improving hospital quality in Ethiopia. Individual hospitals with CEOs in the program have already reported substantial improvements including reduced length of stay from 10 to 7 days and reduced post-surgical infection rates from 10% to 2%, highlighting greater efficiency and quality of care. The expansion of the MHA program is supported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“Funding from the CDC speaks volumes to the fact that our government, in partnership with the Ethiopian Ministry of Health, understands the importance of good management. The MHA program is making a difference in the quality of health care, and Yale is honored to help lead the way in these efforts,” stated Elizabeth Bradley, faculty director of GHLI and director of the Yale Global Health Initiative. Bradley also noted that GHLI is viewing the success of the Ethiopian partnership as a template for similar collaborations with other countries, including Rwanda.

The Global Health Leadership Institute at Yale was launched to develop the next generation of global health leaders around the world through innovative education and research programs