Fikreab Kebede Hadero appointed president of the Ethiopian Public Health Association

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – Fikreab Kebede Hadero, M.D., technical advisor for neglected tropical diseases with RTI International in Ethiopia, has been appointed to serve as president of the Ethiopian Public Health Association. 

EPHA is a health professionals association that works toward the attainment of an optimal standard of health for people in Ethiopia. It promotes better health services to the public and high professional standards through advocacy, professional competence, relevant policies and effective networking.

"We are extremely proud that Dr. Hadero has taken on such a distinguished position with the EPHA," said Richard Reithinger, Ph.D., vice president of global health at RTI. "Not only will he make an effective leader for the organization but this role will also strengthen his advocacy for greater awareness and action in combating neglected tropical diseases."

RTI implements two neglected tropical disease projects in Ethiopia funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, ENVISION and the Morbidity Management and Disability Prevention project. In support of these two projects, Fikreab works in close partnership with the Federal Ministry of Health in Ethiopia to provide technical assistance for a range of programmatic areas including the development of technical and policy guidelines, mass drug administration, disease mapping, capacity development, field supervision, and monitoring and evaluation.

Before joining RTI, Fikreab was a freelance consultant on public health and community development working for a number of international non-governmental organizations. The most recent position being program support manager for Plan International in Sudan and Ethiopia, working on enhanced child center community development. 

Fikreab holds a doctor of medicine degree from Gondar College of Medical Sciences and a master's degree in public health from Addis Ababa University.