Country action
Ethiopia
Photo © 2023 WHO / Gary Chong Studios – Faris Syazwan:
Ismaziah, a community nurse and midwife, assesses the child’s health and runs through the standard medical protocol checklist.
Every Woman Every Newborn in Ethiopia
Download the full profile with additional key demographics, progress against milestones, and more.
National mortality targets
Maternal mortality ratio
279 per 100,000 live births by 2025
Stillbirth rate
14 PER 1,000 total births by 2025
Neonatal mortality rate
21 per 1,000 live births by 2025
Progress to meet the national maternal, newborn mortality and stillbirth reduction targets
©UNICEF/WHO.Attribution needed
Progress to meet Every Woman Every Newborn Everywhere coverage targets
MNH Acceleration Plan highlights
In 2024, Ethiopia’s MNH Acceleration Plan is focusing on two priorities:
- Provide basic ultrasound training for midlevel providers to support the roll-out of quality antenatal care
- Scale up preconception care and self-care interventions
- Digitalize Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (MPDSR)’s case-based death review and response plan tracking
- Support the expansion of comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care in health centres.
- Expand mini-blood bank services.
- Restore and strengthen maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and nutrition services in conflict affected settings.
©UNICEF/Quarmyne. Redait Tsegay, beneficiary, going to a health center, Neqsege
©UNICEF/Quarmyne. Attribution needed
Quality of care in Ethiopia
Ethiopia is one of the 11 countries that set-up the Network for Improving Quality of Care for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (Quality of Care Network). (link to quality of care network internal page). Ethiopia’s successes in improving quality of care for maternal, newborn and child health are essential to help reduce maternal and newborn mortality and stillbirths. These include:
- A National Quality Strategy is implemented, as well as a specific National Maternal and Newborn Quality Care Roadmap.
- The World Health Organization’s standards for improving the quality of maternal and newborn care, sick and small newborns care and pediatric care in health facilities have been adopted and adapted.
- National safety guidelines, including to ensure safe maternal and newborn care, are under development.
- Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (MPDSR) is prioritized and included in the MNH QoC implementation package, as an integral part of quality of care improvement efforts to reduce maternal deaths, as well as preventable stillbirths and neonatal deaths (link to MPDSR internal page)
- Community Score Cards have been implemented in all Public Health Care facilities in all regions.
- The WHO Labour Care Guide was introduced. It is a tool that aims to support good-quality, evidence-based, respectful care during labour and childbirth, irrespective of the setting or level of health care.
News and events
Explore further and accelerate change
