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Mengistu Asnake Kibret

GFMER Coordinator for Ethiopia

Mengistu Asnake Kibret

Dr. Mengistu Asnake Kibret (MD, MPH)
P.O.Box. 12655, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
E-mail: MAsnake@pathfind.org or Mengistuas@yahoo.com

Dr. Mengistu Asnake is a public health specialist with 25 years of experience in reproductive health, primary health care, child survival, community health services, program management, training, operational research, and clinical service delivery.  Dr. Asnake is currently the Deputy Country Representative for Pathfinder International in Ethiopia. In this position, he is primarily responsible for coordinating technical aspects of Pathfinder International/Ethiopia programs in the area of RH/FP including the prevention and control of STI/HIV/AIDS, and for overseeing program implementation. Working in partnership with the Country Representative, he is involved in management decisions and directions, and represents the organization on numerous technical committees organized by the MOH, and donor organizations. In different occasions he served as an expert in global discussions for FP/HIV integration, community based family planning, long acting family planning and adolescent issues. In addition, he is the Chief of Party for the Integrated Family Health Program (IFHP), a USAID flagship FP/MNCH program led by Pathfinder International in Ethiopia.  In a voluntary capacity, Dr. Mengistu served as President of the Ethiopian Public Health Association (EPHA) from 2006 to 2009 and as an Executive Board member of the World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA). During this period he played a major role in bringing the 13th world congress on public health to Africa where Ethiopia being the host for the congress. As part of his responsibility in the WFPHA Dr. Mengistu is chairing the nomination committee and has contributed a lot in the nomination process of the WFPHA leadership and executive board members. In addition, he is providing technical support in the area of RH/FP training and research to the Graduate Program of the Addis Ababa University at the School of Public Health and Institute of Population Studies as an Honorary Assistant Professor. Dr. Mengistu published over 20 scientific and technical papers in peer reviewed journals and technical publications.

Prior to joining Pathfinder International, Dr. Mengistu worked at various levels of the MOH and was responsible for program management, training, IEC, supervision, and coordinating activities with donors, governmental agencies, and NGOs. As a clinical medical officer in ALERT, he was involved in the training of international trainees in the area of Leprosy and Tuberculosis, and conducted several operational research activities. In addition, he was primarily involved in the initiation of the first combined Tuberculosis and Leprosy program in Ethiopia in a pilot area in the Southern Region using the DOTS strategy in 1994. During the same period, he was involved in the development of a National Guideline for Tuberculosis and Leprosy which used DOTS as a major treatment strategy. As a Preventive and Promotive Health Coordinator in the southern region with the BASICS/ESHE/USAID Project, he was primarily involved in child survival activities including working as a focal person in the introduction of Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI) in three pilot districts. He also played an advisory role for the Health Bureau in the Southern Region during the initial development of system strengthening activities that included HMIS and worked as an advisor for operational research supported by the BASICS project. Dr. Mengistu received an MPH from Addis Ababa University (AAU), Faculty of Medicine in 1991, his MD from AAU, Gondar College of Medical Sciences in 1987 and several certificates from different in-country and abroad trainings.

See also:

Honors

  • Supported by the Geneva State Chancellery to attend the GFMER research workshop, June 2011.
  • Expert Panel reviewer for WHO on Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health, November 2010.
  • Selected as ICEID- 2008 Leader at the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases organized by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the CDC Foundation and the CDC in March 2008.
  • Executive Board Member of the World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA) – 2006- 2010 and Chair of the Nomination Committee (2006- todate).
  • President, Ethiopian Public Health Association (EPHA) (November 2005 – October 2009).
  • Honorary Assistant Professor in the School of Public Health, Faculty of medicine, and Population Research and Studies Center (PRSC) AAU (August 2004 – to date).
  • Editorial Board of the Ethiopian Journal of Health Development (2009 –to date).
  • Reviewer for the Ethiopian Journal of Health Development (2000- to date).
  • Executive board member of the Family Guidance Association of Ethiopia, Eastern Ethiopian branch office (1992 - 1993).
  • Executive board member of Asebe Teferi Ethiopian Red Cross branch office (1987 - 1989).

Publications

  • Bringing Youth Friendly Services to Scale in Ethiopia. Pathfinder International Technical Report www.pathfind.org (2012).
  • Integrating Family planning and HIV in Ethiopia: An Analysis of Pathfinder’s Approach and Scale-Up. Pathfinder International Technical Report www.pathfind.org (2011).
  • Scale-up of Task-Shifting for Community Based Provision of Implanon. Pathfinder International Technical Report www.pathfind.org (2011).
  • 25 Years of Public Health Leadership in Africa: The Ethiopian Public Health Association. Canadian Journal of Public Health 2010;101(6).
  • Scaling up Community-Based Service Delivery of Implanon: The Integrated Family Health Program’s Experience in Training Health Extension Workers. Pathfinder International Technical Report www.pathfind.org (2010).
  • Information Sharing in Professional Associations: The case of the Ethiopian Journal of Health Development in Strengthening the Ethiopian Public Health Association. Ethiopian Journal of Health Development (EJHD) 2009: 23(special issue).
  • Enhanced Access to Reproductive Health and Family Planning, Pathfinder International in Ethiopia 2002-2007. Pathfinder International Technical Report www.pathfind.org (2007).
  • Women’s Empowerment in Ethiopia: New Solutions to Ancient Problems. Pathfinder International Technical Report www.pathfind.org (2007).
  • Service Based Delivery Long Acting Family Planning Training. Pathfinder International Technical Report www.pathfind.org (2007).
  • Improving the range of Contraceptive Use in rural Ethiopia. Ethiopian Journal of Health Development (EJHD) 2006: 20(2).
  • The Impact of  CBRH services in Southern Ethiopia (1999) and in Haik CBRH Project (2001)
  • Reproductive Health Services through alternative service delivery approach; The experience of Kmobolcha Textile Factory (2001)
  • Sensitivity of Chest X-rays and their relation to sputum results in the diagnosis of Pulmonary Tuberculosis in Hossana Hospital. Ethiopian Journal of Health Development 2000:14(2).
  • Knowledge and Attitude of Health Professionals in Relation to the Involvement of the General Health Service Staff in the Management of Leprosy in Ethiopia. International Journal of Leprosy 2000, 68 (299).
  • Follow-up evaluation of the effects of Community Based Reproductive Health (CBRH) project in Hadiya and KAT zones of SNNPR, Ethiopia. Pathfinder International, September 1999.
  • The Involvement of the General Health Service Staff in the Management of Leprosy in the Southern Region, Ethiopia. Ethiopian Journal of Health Development 1999:13(3).
  • Community Assessment and Planning for Maternal and Child Health Programs: A participatory Approach in Ethiopia. BASICS Technical Report, Arlington, Va: BASICS, 1998.
  • Operations Research in the BASICS/ESHE project: A summary of supported studies. Monograph, Awassa: BASICS, 1998.
  • Revitalizing Rural PHC services: A Review of BASICS/ESHE Community Based Project Activities in the SNNPR. Community Monograph, Awassa: BASICS, 1998.
  • A one-year progress report of the Tuberculosis control program in Southern Shoa, Ethiopia. Tubercle 1996:77(Supplement 2).
  • Water Handling Procedures and Their Association with childhood Diarrhea. Ethiopian Journal of Health Development 1992:6(2).
  • Focus Group Identification of Barriers to the Use of Modern Contraception in East Hararghe. Ethiopian Journal of Health Development 1991:5(1).
  • Health Profile and Action Plan for Garamuleta district. AAU, Department of Community Health, 1990. 

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