The Next Generation of Ethiopian Entrepreneurs: How the Digital Health Activity Invests in Young People
By Alemnesh Gudeta
Eden Zewdie lives in Addis Ababa Kazanchis Urael area of Ethiopia. Throughout her life, she visited Kazanchis Health Center — a 10-minute walk from her home. She recalled an experience bringing her grandmother to the health center a year ago.
“The center had lost her records, only realizing this after we had waited a long time. She returned home without treatment,” Eden says. “The center’s workflow problems were evident, with long patient queues and overwhelmed staff.”
Ethiopia has long struggled to implement strong health information systems due to factors from low levels of human resources for health to infrastructure challenges that impede the efficacy of new technology.
In 2019, JSI’s USAID-funded Digital Health Activity (DHA) launched an initiative to close the skilled human resources gap by supporting rural health centers while nurturing entrepreneurship in science, math, engineering, and technology. DHA collaborates with various agencies and universities to help young people develop competencies in digital health, business management, and entrepreneurship, obtain legal working status, and access startup capital.
Last year, Eden, through her university, applied to the DHA-supported-Health Information Technology for Africa Youth Enterprise. Its goal is to establish a sustainable network and deploy electronic medical records (EMRs) at nearby facilities. EMRs retain patient history digitally, allowing immediate data recall during clinician/client interactions, and enabling faster workflows within health center functions.
Eden worked on a team to design and develop the EMR system and its use across health centers. Implementing and testing hardware with health workers and troubleshooting challenges, Eden enables these health centers, including Kazanchis, to use the technology.
“One morning last month, I pleaded with my grandmother to return to Kazanchis Health Center. She refused initially, but I persuaded her. Upon arrival, she moved quickly from triage to the outpatient department to treatment. Even my skeptical grandmother remarked on the change,” Eden said. “Being able to contribute to my community in such a meaningful way, to get better care for my own family, fills me with immense pride and brings honor to my family.”
“I want to contribute to advancements in health information systems, telemedicine, and artificial intelligence-driven diagnostics to improve patient outcomes and care accessibility in Ethiopia. I aspire to mentor a generation of women in the rapidly evolving technology and health sectors,” Eden said.
To date, DHA has established and nurtured 17 small- and medium-youth enterprises involving 155 university students. These enterprises are improving health care accessibility throughout Ethiopia.
Learn more about DHA here.
