BACKGROUND There is increasing interest in the role of close-to-community providers in supporting universal health coverage, but questions remain about the best approaches to supporting and motivating these providers, and the optimal package they can deliver indifferent contexts and support required. We report on the experiences of different health providers involved in a community based interv...

BACKGROUND The Ethiopian TB control programme relies on passive case finding of TB cases. The predominantly rural-based population in Ethiopia has limited access to health facilities creating barriers to TB services. An intervention package aimed to bring TB diagnosis and treatment services closer to communities has been implemented through partnership with health extension workers (HEWs). They...

INTRODUCTION Rural communities in low-income countries lack vital registrations to track birth outcomes. We aimed to examine the feasibility of community-based birth registration and measure maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in rural south Ethiopia. METHODS In 2010, health extension workers (HEWs) registered births and maternal deaths among 421,639 people in three districts (Derashe, Bonke, and ...

BACKGROUND TB Control Programmes rely on passive case-finding to detect cases. TB notification remains low in Ethiopia despite major expansion of health services. Poor rural communities face many barriers to service access. METHODS AND FINDINGS A community-based intervention package was implemented in Sidama zone, Ethiopia. The package included advocacy, training, engaging stakeholders and co...

Background Tuberculosis (TB) is a major cause of death in Ethiopia. One of the main barriers for TB control is the lack of access to health services. Methods We evaluated a diagnostic and treatment service for TB based on the health extension workers (HEW) of the Ethiopian Health Extension Programme in Sidama Zone, with 3.5 million population. We added the services to the HEW routines and eva...

BACKGROUND Infections account for up to a half of neonatal deaths in low income countries. The umbilicus is a common source of infection in such settings. This qualitative study investigates practices and perspectives related to umbilical cord care in Ethiopia. METHODS In-depth interviews (IDI) were conducted in a district in each of the four most populous regions in the country: Oromia, Amha...

BACKGROUND The focus of discussion in addressing the treatment gap is often on biomedical services. However, community resources can benefit health service scale-up in resource-constrained settings. These assets can be captured systematically through resource mapping, a method used in social action research. Resource mapping can be informative in developing complex mental health interventions, ...

BACKGROUND Although children in contact with adults with tuberculosis (TB) should receive isoniazid (INH) preventive therapy (IPT), this is rarely implemented. OBJECTIVE To assess whether a community-based approach to provide IPT at the household level improves uptake and adherence in Ethiopia. METHODS Contacts of adults with smear-positive pulmonary TB (PTB+) were visited at home and exami...

BACKGROUND Ethiopia is one of the ten countries with the highest number of neonatal deaths globally, and only 1 in 10 women deliver with a skilled attendant. Promotion of essential newborn care practices is one strategy for improving newborn health outcomes that can be delivered in communities as well as facilities. This article describes newborn care practices reported by recently-delivered wo...

BACKGROUND Many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including Ethiopia, are focusing on the distribution of Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs) to combat malaria. However, utilization of the LLIN is low when compared with LLIN possession because of various factors. This study was conducted to measure the actual LLIN usage and identify factors associated with its utilization in Limmu Seka Distri...