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Impact Evaluation of the Ethiopian Health Services Extension Program

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Name of the Asset | Impact Evaluation of the Ethiopian Health Services Extension Program
Type of Asset | Working Paper
Date | October 2009

Summary

Ethiopia launched an innovative, national level, community-based Health Services Extension Program (HSEP) in 2003. The primary purpose of the HSEP is to improve access and utilization of health care especially by children and mothers in the country. This study examines the impact of the program on health status indicators of mothers and children as these are the primary target beneficiaries of the program.

The study demonstrates a non-experimental program evaluation technique to study program impact in health. It combines propensity score matching and regression adjustment to estimate the impact of Ethiopia’s HSEP on several measured child and maternal health outcomes, with empirical data from 3,095 households from both program and non-program villages.

Results indicate that there are significant differences in health outcomes between treatment and comparison villages, which could be attributable to the presence of the HSEP in the treatment villages. Regarding child health, limited effects were registered for preventive types of health care services. However, the program has had a statistically significant effect on child immunization against tuberculosis, polio, diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus (DPT), and measles.

Authors:

  • Degnet Abeb, Ethiopian Economics Association, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
  • Assefa Admassie, Ethiopian Economics Association, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
  • Andinet D. Woldemichael, Georgia State University, Atlanta, USA

Country and/or Region | Ethiopia 
Name of the Program | GDN’s Global Research Project 'Promoting Innovative Programs from the Developing World: Towards Realizing the Health MDGs in Africa and Asia'
Funder(s) | The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, United States

Download the Full Study here

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