In his keynote address, Dr Filimona Bisrat, President of EPHA, noted that the training is unique in that it targets health professionals with a first degree. This, he said, can be a half way motivation inspiring themto pursue their Post graduate studies.
Dr Filimona also stated his concern over the issue of data quality that may pose difficulty to the development of research at the national level unless efforts are made at all levels by professionals in the health sector.
Dr Filimona finally urged the graduates to translate the skill and knowledge they have acquired from the course into their practical duties and extend their modest contribution in the national efforts geared towards enhancing human resource development in the health sector.
Of the 23 health professionals recruited and enrolled into this cohort, 20 (87%)of them have successfully completed the course studying the full package of the training; including the three succeeding modules along with undertaking specific research projects with the use of secondary data on HIV /AIDS and related topics.
At the conclusion of the graduation ceremony, certificates were handed over to the graduates by DrFilimona and AtoTeklay. Seven of the trainees were females.
EPHA has been providing leadership in strategic information training since November 2006 with the aim to develop capacities of the public health sector in using strategic information to improve skills towards need assessment, planning, monitoring and evaluations of the full range of interventions and activities to combat the HIV AIDS epidemic and other public health problems at the sub-national level.
More than 200 health professionals drawn from various regions and health sector organizations have been trained and graduated from the LSI program since the program was launched in 2006.
This cohort of the LSI training has been provided by the Ethiopian Public Health Association in collaboration with the Mekele Universityand with the financial support from the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention.