Unmet need for family planning and associated factors among currently married women in Hawella Tulla subcity, Hawassa, southern Ethiopia: community-based study.

Background: The unmet need for family planning remains a major public health concern in developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Similarly, in Ethiopia, the unmet need for family planning is considerably high. However information regarding associated factors of unmet need of family planning is limited, the study area in particular.

Option B plus antiretroviral therapy adherence and associated factors among HIV positive pregnant women in Southern Ethiopia.

Background: Adherence to Option B plus Antiretroviral Therapy plays a vital role in preventing mother to child transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus and development of drug resistance. This study was aimed to assess adherence to option B plus ART and associated factors among HIV positive pregnant women at public Hospitals in Southern Ethiopia.

Methods: Facility based cross sectional study was conducted on HIV positive pregnant mothers attending public health facilities' antenatal care unit.

Time series analysis of trends in malaria cases and deaths at hospitals and the effect of antimalarial interventions, 2001-2011, Ethiopia.

Background: The Government of Ethiopia and its partners have deployed artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACT) since 2004 and long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) since 2005. Malaria interventions and trends in malaria cases and deaths were assessed at hospitals in malaria transmission areas during 2001-2011.

Methods: Regional LLINs distribution records were used to estimate the proportion of the population-at-risk protected by LLINs.

Using a GIS to model interventions to strengthen the emergency referral system for maternal and newborn health in Ethiopia.

Objectives: To show how GIS can be used by health planners to make informed decisions about interventions to increase access to emergency services.

Methods: A combination of data sources, including the 2008 national Ethiopian baseline assessment for emergency obstetric and newborn care that covered 797 geo-coded health facilities, LandScan population data, and road network data, were used to model referral networks and catchment areas across 2 regions of Ethiopia. STATA and ArcGIS software extensions were used to model different scenarios for strengthening the referral system, defined by the structural inputs of transportation and communication, and upgrading facilities, to compare the increase in access to referral facilities.

Ethiopia's assessment of emergency obstetric and newborn care: setting the gold standard for national facility-based assessments.

Objective: To describe the methods used to implement Ethiopia's 2008 emergency obstetric and newborn care services (EmONC) assessment; highlight how the collaborative process contributed to immediate integration of results into national and subnational planning; and explain how the experience informed the development of a set of tools providing best practices and guidelines for other countries conducting similar assessments.

Methods: A team of maternal and newborn health experts from the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), together with representatives from the Ethiopian Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, provided technical guidance for the 18-month process and facilitated demand for and use of the assessment results. Eighty-four trained data collectors administered 9 data collection modules in 806 public and private facilities.