IVI and Ethiopia

 

Ethiopian Support for IVI

 

Dr. Demissie Habte of the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences was a founding leader of IVI, serving on the IVI Board of Trustees from 1995 to 1997. 

 

Ongoing Collaboration

 

AHRI-IVI Collaborating Center

In 2021, IVI and the Armauer Hansen Research Institute (AHRI) entered into an MOU to establish an IVI Collaborating Center at AHRI headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This collaboration center will develop and implement collaborative programs in vaccine R&D and capacity building for global health.

 

Ethiopia Cholera Control and Prevention (ECCP)

ECCP plans to provide free cholera vaccination for 40,000 residents in areas at risk of cholera and establish a disease monitoring system to strengthen local public health capabilities in Ethiopia between 2021 and 2023. The project will use the oral cholera vaccine (OCV) developed by IVI and produced by the Korean vaccine manufacturer EuBiologics. 

 

The project will also evaluate the effectiveness and impact of OCV after vaccination and collect epidemiological data of cholera and other diarrhea diseases by conducting follow-up monitoring for several years. This will contribute to the Ethiopian government’s efforts to establish policies for combating waterborne diseases such as cholera. 

 

Globally, ECCP seeks to build a model for the ‘Ending Cholera—A Global Roadmap to 2030’ initiative in cholera-endemic countries.

 

ECCP is funded by the Korea Support Committee for IVI and LG Electronics and is conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Health of Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Public Health Institute, and AHRI. 

 

Previous Collaboration

 

Vaccinology Course Training

Over 13 Ethiopian scientists and medical professionals have received training in IVI’s Vaccinology Course.

 

Oral Cholera Vaccination Campaign

Between February and March 2015, an IVI-led consortium conducted one of the first mass vaccination campaigns using the IVI-developed Shanchol oral cholera vaccine (OCV). With funding from Korea’s LG Electronics and the coordination of the Ethiopian Ministry of Health, WHO, UNICEF,  and Armauer Hansen Research Institute (AHRI), over 100,000 doses of OCV were provided to over 45,000 people in selected kebeles of Rural Shashemenae District in west Arsi zone of Oromia region. Each participant received two doses of OCV. 

 

Severe Typhoid Surveillance in Africa Program (SETA)

Between 2016 and 2018 in Adama Wenji, IVI worked with Shewa Alem Tena Health Center, Gefersa Health Center, Kuriftu Health Center, and Adama Hospital to study the burden of typhoid in over 53,000 people. 

 

In Welayita Sodo, IVI worked with Sodo Health Center, Sodo Teaching Hospital, and Sodo Christian Hospital to study the burden of typhoid in over 120,000 people.

 

The surveillance studies included additional cost of illness studies, health economic evaluations, cost of other illnesses, quality of life studies, and long-term socio-economic studies. 

 

Typhoid Fever Surveillance in Africa Program (TSAP) 

Between 2010 and 2013 in Butajira, Ethiopia, IVI surveilled over 62,000 people to determine the incidence of typhoid in the area.