The Ethiopian health care system

Currently, Ethiopia follows a three-tier health care system: primary, secondary and tertiary levels of care. At the grass root level, there is a primary level of care (PHC) which includes primary hospitals, health centers and health posts. A primary hospital provides emergency, inpatient and ambulatory services, and referral site for health centers; totally provide health care service for an average population of 100, 000. Also, it acts as a practical training center for nurses and other paramedical health professionals. The secondary health care system includes a general hospital that act as a referral center for primary hospitals, and also training center for health officers, nurses and emergency surgeons. A tertiary health care system includes a specialized hospital, a referral center for general hospitals. Under primary health care level, there is a primary health care unit (PHCU) which comprises one referral health center and five satellite health posts. The health posts are the lowest-level health system facility, and the point where PHC is administered and primary services facilitated. Therefore, the HEP is a program designed to provide the primary health care services at the nearby community [7–9].