ADDIS ABABA – February 06, 2024 - (EPHI) - Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) launched a project on Enabling Environments for Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Risk Reduction in Ethiopia here yesterday.
The project, ENABLE, aims to reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Ethiopia by reducing the life-long prevalence of major NCD risk factors among pregnant women in Ethiopia through multi-level actions to promote healthy diets, physical activity and reduce air pollution in a clean and supportive urban environment.
Opening the event held at the premises of EPHI, Deputy Director General of EPHI, Dr. Getachew Tolera said that it is a significant step forward to deal with a triple burden of undernutrition, micronutrient deficiency, and overweight, posing an elevated risk of NCD particularly among the urban population.
Dr. Getachew said that the ENABLE project would allow the consortium (project implementers) to work together to create a program that intends to lower the magnitude of major NCD risk factors among pregnant women through multilevel initiatives.
Coordinated by the NIPH, the grant was awarded by the EU Horizon Europe Framework Program to the ENABLE research consortium, with Dr. Eleni Papadopoulou (NIPH) and Dr. Masresha Tessema (EPHI) leading the effort as joint principal investigators. The ENABLE consortium is a multidisciplinary team of 11 partners from Europe (Norway, Sweden, Netherlands) and Africa (Ethiopia and Nigeria) from both national public health institutes, private and public research universities, and a not-for-profit organization.
Consortium members are expected to equitably implement context-adapted evidence-based interventions to increase knowledge, develop capacity and skills, and promote positive behavioral change among pregnant women, community groups and health care providers in urban communities in four Ethiopian cities: Addis Ababa, Adama, Harar, and Jimma.
It was indicated during the event that over the next four years, ENABLE will work to provide real-word evidence for the impact of implementation for behavior change, NCD risk reduction and better maternal and child health. ENABLE will support care providers for continuity and quality of overall healthcare and NCD care and surveillance, and ultimately strengthen the Ethiopian public health system towards better health for all.
The launching event of ENABLE Project was attended by over 80 people drawn from consortium members, stake holders, and other concerned governmental and non-governmental organizations. (EPHI)
