Despite efforts to find and treat TB, about four million cases were missed globally in 2017. Barriers to accessing health care, inadequate health-seeking behavior of the community, poor socioeconomic conditions, and stigma are major determinants of this gap. This is the first national stigma survey conducted in seven regions and two city administrations of Ethiopia. A total of 3463 participants (844 TB patients, 836 from their families, and 1783 from the general population) were enrolled for the study. More than a third of Ethiopians have high scores for TB-related stigma, which were associated with educational status, poverty, and lack of awareness about TB. Stigma matters in TB prevention, care, and treatment and warrants stigma reduction interventions.

To evaluate the utility of a volunteer health development army in conducting population screening for active tuberculosis (TB) in a rural community in southern Ethiopia, a population-based cross-sectional survey was conducted in six kebeles (the lowest administrative units). All 24,517 adults in the study area had a symptom screen performed. Overall, 34 TB cases (6%) were identified by culture and/or Xpert, corresponding to a prevalence of 139 per 100,000 persons. This study demonstrated the capability of community health workers (volunteer and paid) to rapidly conduct a large-scale population TB screening evaluation and highlight the high yield of such a programme in detecting previously undiagnosed cases when combined with Xpert MTB/RIF testing. This could be a model to implement in other similar settings.

The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence of renal function and liver enzyme abnormalities among HIV‐infected children, changes in prevalence with time on combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), and the factors associated with these abnormalities. A high prevalence of liver enzyme and renal function abnormalities was observed at enrolment. Decreasing liver enzyme levels during follow‐up are possibly reassuring, while the progressive reduction in GFR and the increase in BUN are worrisome and require further study.

The objective of this study was to examine job satisfaction, motivation and associated factors among nurses working in the public health facilities of Ethiopia, with the aim of improving performance and productivity in the health care system. From a random sample of 125 health facilities, 424 nurses were randomly selected for face-to-face interviews in all regions of Ethiopia. Overall, 60.8% of nurses expressed satisfaction with their job. Job satisfaction levels were significantly higher for female nurses, those older than 29  years and those who had over 10  years of work experience. Satisfaction with remuneration, recognition, professional advancement, features of the work itself, and nurses’ work experiences from 5 to 10  years were significantly associated with overall job satisfaction after controlling for other predictors. The study findings are signals for the Ministry of Health to strengthen the human resource management system and practices to improve nurses’ overall job satisfaction and motivation, especially among nurses with 5 to 10  years of experience on the job. Expanded recognition systems and opportunities for advancement are required to increase nurses’ job satisfaction and motivation. Equitable salary and fringe benefits are also needed to reduce their dissatisfaction with the job.

Ethiopia is among the high-burden countries for tuberculosis (TB), TB/HIV, and drug-resistant TB. The aim of this nationwide study was to better understand TB-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAPs) and generate evidence for policy and decision-making. Of 3,503 participants, 884 (24.4%), 836 (24.1%), and 1,783 (51.5%) were TB patients, families of TB patients, and the general population, respectively. The mean age was 34.3 years, and 50% were women. Forty-six percent were heads of households, 32.1% were illiterate, 20.3% were farmers, and 19.8% were from the lowest quintile. The majority (95.5%) had heard about TB, but only 25.8% knew that TB is caused by bacteria. The majority (85.3%) knew that TB could be cured. Most Ethiopians have a high level of awareness about TB and seek care in public health facilities, and communities are generally supportive. Inadequate knowledge about TB transmission, limited engagement of community health workers, and low preference for using community health workers were the key challenges.

This study examined provider barries to uptake of isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT) at 67 government health facilities providing tuberculosis (TB) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) services across Ethiopia. Clinician impression that ruling out active TB among HIV patients is difficult was found to be a significant barrier to IPT uptake. Continued advancement of IPT relies greatly on improving the ability of providers to determine IPT eligibility and more confidently care for patients on IPT. Improved clinician support and training as well as development of new TB diagnostic technologies could impact IPT utilization among providers.

Persistent dyslipidemia in children is associated with risks of cardiovascular accidents and poor combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) outcome. We report on the first evaluation of prevalence and associations with dyslipidemia due to HIV and cART among HIV-infected Ethiopian children. High prevalence of cART-associated dyslipidemia, particularly low HDLc and hypertriglyceridemia, was observed among treatment-experienced HIV-infected children. The findings underscore the need for regular follow-up of children on cART for lipid abnormalities.

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 735 new adult tuberculosis (TB) cases registered between January to December 2015 in 10 woredas, equivalent to districts, of southwestern Ethiopia. TB patients waited too long time to initiate anti-TB treatment, reflecting longer periods of morbidity and disease transmission. The delays are attributed to patient, disease and health system related factors. Hence, improving community awareness, and involving informal providers, health extension workers and TB treatment supporters can reduce the patient delay. Similarly, cough screening and improving diagnostic efficiencies of healthcare facilities should be in place to reduce provider delays.

We present Ethiopia's experience in implementing LTBI management. Our objective is to share promising practices and existing opportunities and to suggest specific steps required for further scale up of the services. Our report is based on synthesis of data from secondary sources including official routine reports of Ministry of Health, materials presented at review meetings, and findings from supervisory visits to districts and health facilities. Our results suggest that Ethiopia has made significant strides toward strengthening LTBI management in people living with HIV and among under-five-year-old household contacts of TB patients. The use of contact investigation as entry point for LTBI management could be taken as best practice.

A longitudinal study among 735 new TB cases was conducted from January 2015 through June 2016 in 10 woredas (districts) of southwestern Ethiopia. Between onset of illness and anti-TB treatment course, patients incurred a median of US$201.48. Of the total cost, the indirect and direct costs respectively constituted 70.6 and 29.4%. TB patients incurred a median of US$97.62 and US$93.75 during the pre- and post-diagnosis periods, respectively. Thus, patients incurred 53.6% of the total cost during the pre-diagnosis period. Direct out-of-pocket expenses during the pre- and post-diagnosis periods respectively amount to median of US$21.64 and US$35.02. Patient delay days, provider delay days, number of healthcare facilities visited until TB diagnosis, and TB diagnosis at private facilities independently predicted increased pre-diagnosis cost. Similarly, rural residence, hospitalization during anti-TB treatment, patient delay days, and provider delay days predicted increased post-diagnosis costs. TB patients incur substantial cost for care seeking and treatment despite “free service” for TB. Therefore, promoting early care seeking, decentralizing efficient diagnosis, and treatment services within reach of peoples, and introducing reimbursement system for direct costs can help minimize financial burden to the patient.