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The State Minister of Health, Dr. Ayele Teshome, who was the guest of honor at the conference, said that the members of the association, both individually and as an institution, have contributed and are contributing to save the lives of the brave Ethiopian army members who are suffering from man-made and natural disasters, especially in war. He mentioned that Ethiopia is grateful for all their contributions.
Dr. Ayele added that, the Ministry of Health always appreciates the efforts of the association and medical colleges to provide medical equipment and resources needed for orthopedic treatment through bilateral relations with various institutions. On behalf of the user community, he expressed gratitude to the organizations that are supporting them by providing medical equipment and resources.
The State Ministry added that the present time is one where man-made and natural disasters are increasing, and the needs of our society have increased; “Therefore, in addition to the work we do in terms of infrastructure, human resource development and resource provision to improve access to services, we are at a time to review and improve our health service systems, improve the effectiveness of our limited human resources and other resources, reduce wastage and implement new practices that ensure service quality and customer safety”.
Thus, the implementation of a 10-year roadmap to help improve specialty and subspecialty services, and a reform package to help improve system bottlenecks around service delivery are being implemented. He mentioned that efforts are being made to implement various cooperation frameworks in which the government and the private sector work together to ensure uninterrupted supply of resources. He urged the professional association and experts to contribute to its effectiveness together with the stakeholders.
The president of the association, Dr. Gelatau Tesema, gave the welcome message and introduced the topics to be discussed at this year's conference. He thanks the members of the association for their active participation during the wars of the past years. He further announced that there will be a wide discussion about the services that the victims of the conflict and especially the post-war victims should get and what the modern treatment in the field should look like at the international level.
In the conference, a ceremony was held to give thanks and recognition awards to the medical professionals and institutions that have made significant contributions in the field of orthopedics and have been serving for several years. An exhibition was also officially opened and visited by guests and participants.