All innovations registered in this system should align to at least one priority
from WHO, MoH Ethiopia, WCSH, or the MoH Demand Articulation document (Feb 2025).
🔬 MoH Health Innovation Demand Articulation
From the National Health Innovation Demand Articulation Draft Document, February 2025.
These are the specific innovation demands Ethiopia needs solutions for — the highest
impact areas for any registered innovation to address.
Priority 1 · Maternal Health
🔴 High Urgency
Increase quality of delivery care to decrease maternal deaths
📊 Ethiopia MMR: 267/100,000 live births (2020) — 68% of Sub-Saharan preventable deaths.
Only 6.3% of facilities had good quality across all dimensions of delivery care.
💡 Innovation needed: Digital labor monitoring tools, HCW decision support,
network-of-care systems linking health centers to referral hospitals, tools targeting
underserved/resource-limited areas.
Priority 2 · Disease Control
🔴 High Urgency
Decrease malaria burden through optimized tools and new interventions
📊 3.3M malaria cases treated in Ethiopia (2023). Incidence rose 62.7% from 2022.
New vector Anopheles stephensi emerging in urban areas.
💡 Innovation needed: New vector surveillance tools, improved diagnostics
addressing gene deletion misdiagnosis, community engagement innovations, insecticide
resistance tracking systems.
Priority 3 · PHC / HEW
🟡 Medium Urgency
Increase productivity of Health Extension Workers (HEWs)
📊 64,378 HEWs in Ethiopia. Low competency, high workload, salary USD 90–120/month.
Productivity stagnant since 2015. None of HEWs in one assessment assessed all danger signs.
💡 Innovation needed: Blended/mobile refresher training systems, HEW
performance tracking tools, offline-capable learning platforms in local languages,
integrated supervision and mentorship systems.
Priority 4 · Nursing Quality
🟡 Medium Urgency
Optimize nursing care quality for better patient outcomes
📊 Only 55.15% patient satisfaction with nursing care in Ethiopian hospitals.
HAI extends stay by 6.32 days on average. 15% of hospital costs from adverse events.
💡 Innovation needed: Digital nursing audit tools (Donabedian framework),
HAI/adverse event reporting systems, protocol adherence tracking, nursing competency
continuous assessment platforms.
Priority 5 · Surveillance
🔴 High Urgency
Scalable real-time public health surveillance systems
📊 Communicable diseases = 62% of deaths in Ethiopia (2021).
Current systems fragmented; no real-time integration of community, facility, and POE data.
💡 Innovation needed: Integrated digital surveillance platforms connecting
HEWs, facilities, and Points of Entry; GPS-enabled outbreak reporting; mHealth apps
for frontline workers; interoperable data systems.
Priority 6 · HR Systems
🟡 Medium Urgency
Enhance iHRIS implementation across all health institution levels
📊 1.5 health workers per 1,000 people (WHO minimum: 2.3). Only 35.8% readiness
score for iHRIS in some regions. Poor data quality and underutilization widespread.
💡 Innovation needed: iHRIS readiness assessment tools, HR data quality
microlearning systems, workforce distribution analytics, ownership and accountability
tracking mechanisms.
Priority 7 · Pharmaceuticals
🔴 High Urgency
Improve availability of essential drugs and laboratory reagents
📊 Only 83% of facilities have adequate stock. 14M people affected by drug shortages.
45% of patients report delays in receiving medications. $20M/year on preventable complications.
💡 Innovation needed: End-to-end supply chain visibility systems,
real-time stock dashboards, expiry alert tools for reagents, interoperable replacement
for fragmented tools (DAGU, VITAS, m-brana, ERP).
Priority 8 · Health Financing
🟡 Medium Urgency
Timely CBHI claim reimbursement to reduce out-of-pocket expenditure
📊 OOP = 37% of total health expenditure. 11% of households face catastrophic health
spending. Only ~10% of population has any health insurance. 25% delay/avoid care due to cost.
💡 Innovation needed: Digitalized CBHI claims processing platform,
real-time claim tracking, member mobile engagement apps, automated notification
systems targeting 30-day reimbursement cycle.
📄 Source: MoH Ethiopia — Health Innovation Demand Articulation Draft Document, February 2025.
Available in the HIH Resource Library under Guidelines.
