The three-day conference, which will last for three days, has kicked off in Addis Ababa; Minister of Health Dr. Mekdes Daba said in her opening remarks that self-care is essential for the health service system.
Self-care is the ability of individuals, families and communities to maintain their own health and prevent disease, with or without the support of a health professional.
Dr. Mekdes said that self-care helps individuals take control of their own health; self-care has enabled MoH to increase the coverage of reproductive health services in Ethiopia.
She added that primary health care professionals have been trained to support self-care options; and a national self-care dashboard has been developed. Minister Mekdes also explained that the conference will provide an opportunity to learn from experiences that can improve self-care services.
Dr. Leopold Oudrago, WHO’s Regional Director for Africa, said the objectives of the forum were to highlight the key contributions of health systems and people-centred care; to discuss evidence gaps and priorities for improving gender equality and scaling up health services; to discuss ways to make self-care accessible to people everywhere, including in areas affected by conflict, climate change, epidemics and other emergencies; and to identify key implementation/practice issues that can be part of a comprehensive implementation guide on self-care for health and safety, and to discuss evidence-based research findings.
Dr. Owen Laws Kaluwa, WHO Representative to Ethiopia, thanked the Ethiopian Government for hosting the conference; said that scaling up personal-health care would help support the overall health system.
Speaking at the conference, Dr. Pascal Alotey, Director of the World Health Organization’s Department of Reproductive and Family Planning, said that self-care helps individuals take control of their reproductive health.
The conference brings together health ministers, civil society representatives, and senior experts from various African countries, and will provide a forum for discussion and exchange of experiences.