In a collaborative effort to address the risk of a yellow fever outbreak, Ethiopia hosted a Yellow Fever Sub-national Risk Analysis workshop and consultative meeting. Organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) Ethiopia, in partnership with the Ministry of Health (MoH) and other global and in-country partners, the event aimed to assess and strategize the control of the fever in Ethiopia.
 
Key stakeholders, including representatives from the MoH, Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI), WHO, and US-CDC, led a comprehensive risk analysis and presented the findings during the workshop. The analysis revealed varying levels of risk across different regions of Ethiopia and offered an updated Ending Yellow Fever Elimination (EYE) Strategy. Significantly, experts found some level of risk in all regions.

“Today’s meeting will hopefully result in a concrete consensus for the advancement and for the scaling up of the national yellow fever control strategy in Ethiopia. WHO is committed to continue its support for the implementation of this programme in Ethiopia.” said Dr Sarai Malumo, RMNCAH Cluster Lead speaking on behalf of Dr. Nonhlanhla Dlamini, WHO Representative to Ethiopia.

The Disease Outbreaks

Ethiopia has faced outbreaks of this fever in recent years, with occurrences in 2013, 2018, and 2020. The most recent outbreak affected the Gurage Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR), an area previously unaffected. Ethiopia’s large population and low immunity to the fever make it susceptible to potential outbreaks.
 
Yellow fever is a significant public health threat globally, especially in Africa. Each year, more than 2.2 million cases occur, resulting in over 30,000 deaths, primarily in Africa. Ethiopia is one of the 27 high-risk countries on the continent.

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As Ethiopia confronts the risk of yellow fever, it remains committed to protecting its population from this vaccine-preventable disease and contributing to the success of the Ending EYE Strategy.