Women’s leadership is a crucial and essential area that requires greater focus in today’s world. Across various sectors, women bring unique perspectives, innovative ideas, and diverse leadership styles that drive progress and foster inclusivity.
Women, despite facing systemic barriers and challenges, continue to break boundaries, showcasing resilience and determination. Their leadership not only enhances decision-making processes but also contributes meaningfully in creating a more equitable and sustainable societies.
Thus, increasing women’s representation in leadership positions, whether in politics, business, or community organizations, is of critical importance to ensure that diverse voices are heard and valued, achieve gender equality and promote inclusive and sustainable growth, ultimately contributing to creating a more just, and prosperous future for all.
Accordingly, supporting and empowering women to take on leadership positions is increasingly gaining recognition and importance. As part of this endeavor, various activities are ongoing to empower women assume leadership positions.
With this same intention, recently the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the African Medical Research Foundation (AMREF), the Integrated Health System Strengthening (IHSS), and MaMeLa Consulting, held a High-Impact Leadership Training program for women in the health system.
The initiative, held in Adama Town, aimed at enhancing the leadership skills of female professionals in the health sector. By focusing on empowering women, the program sought to strengthen health systems and drive better health outcomes in the country.
During the opening ceremony, Lead Executive Officer, Health System Innovation and Quality Senior Public Health Specialist at the Ministry of Health, Abbas Hassan (PhD), emphasized that the training program is designed to empower female health professionals.
He stated that the initiative aims to equip women with the leadership skills and competencies necessary to assume leadership roles in their careers. Hassan also highlighted the importance of this empowerment in driving meaningful change within the health system, thereby enhancing overall health service delivery and outcomes.
AMREF Health Africa-Ethiopia Project Director Lisanu Tadesse (MD) also noted that the organization will continue to in strengthen its collaboration with the Ethiopian government to support the Ministry’s initiatives. This partnership aims to enhance the knowledge and skills of health sector leaders, ultimately working towards achieving the health goals of the country.
Founder and Managing Director of MaMeLa, Senait Beyene (MD), stated that the training program include 192 female health leaders and professionals. These participants came from five regions and 15 districts, representing primary hospitals, district health offices, regional health offices, and health centers. This diverse group aims to foster a strong network of empowered women in health leadership roles across the country.
Senait (MD) also mentioned that the first three training programs have been successfully launched in Adama, Semera, and Hawassa. A total of 92 female health professionals are participating in these initial sessions, furthering the initiative to empower women in health leadership and enhance their skills across various regions.
In parallel, the second round of the Midlevel and Frontline High Impact Leadership Program for Health System Leaders and Managers was launched. The trainees selected for this program were chosen based on their tangible results and experiences within their respective institutions, ensuring that the training is tailored to individuals who have demonstrated potential and impact in their roles.
To date, more than 60 middle and lower-level management trainees have participated in the two rounds of training. Looking ahead, the program plans to cascade training to lower levels based on clusters, ensuring a broader reach and impact within the health system. This approach aims to strengthen leadership capabilities throughout all levels of management in the health sector.
The Effective Health Leadership Program consists of three Pillars and six sub-programs. The three programs are: enhance leadership competency, improve women in health leadership, and cultivate managerial accountability. The sub-programs include: enhance senior, middle, and junior effective health leadership competency, improve women in health leadership, clinical leadership, and cultivate leadership succession.
At the completion of the Training of Trainers program for middle and lower-level health leaders under the Effective Health Leadership Program, Health State Minister Ayele Teshome (MD) emphasized the importance of strengthening health leadership. He stated, “There is a need to strengthen health leadership that can improve health service delivery and address the challenges we face!” This message underscores the critical role that effective leadership plays in improving health outcomes and tackling existing challenges within the healthcare system.”
The Ministry of Health has reaffirmed its commitment to addressing the growing demand for health services in the community, emphasizing that this can be achieved by concentrating on timely, technology-supported capacity-building activities aimed at enhancing the skills of health leaders. By investing in leadership development, the Ministry aims to ensure that health services are effectively delivered to meet the needs of the population.
Ayele (MD) further noted that the Ministry of Health has initiated integrated leadership capacity-building training for health leaders at all levels across all regions. This initiative aims to enhance their leadership skills comprehensively. He emphasized the importance of developing criteria to assess these skills, particularly through systems that allow the community to evaluate health services. Additionally, effective leadership should exemplify best practices, reinforcing the idea that leaders must lead by example to inspire and motivate their teams.
Emphasizing the need to build a robust health system through individual-level training, he highlighted the importance of sharing the knowledge and skills acquired from this training with other leaders and professionals. Additionally, he called for the implementation of regular, technology-supported assessments and evaluations based on selected indicators. This approach aims to ensure continuous improvement and accountability within the health system, ultimately leading to enhanced service delivery and better health outcomes.
Ayele also announced a program designed to encourage and recognize health leaders who achieve significant results. This initiative will involve selecting the best-performing institutions, facilitating experience exchanges between them, and ensuring the effective application of the training received into practice. He also mentioned the launch of an integrated project focusing on leadership, quality, equity, and safety in the healthcare system.
Participants of the training stressed the importance of enhancing professionals’ motivation and increasing communities’ demand for health services. They als expressed their satisfaction with the program and committed to applying the knowledge gained to drive meaningful change within their institutions and communities.
BY MENGISTEAB TESHOME
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 10 APRIL 2025
