First-Ever Masters Degree in Healthcare Administration Conferred in Ethiopia

June 9, 2010. New Haven, CT – On Saturday, June 12th, the first and only hospital and health care administration masters degree program in Africa will celebrate the graduation of its first class at Jimma University in Ethiopia. The pioneering Masters in Hospital and Healthcare Administration (MHA) program is a partnership between the Global Health Leadership Institute (GHLI) at Yale University, Jimma University, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) and the Ethiopian Ministry of Health.

“The MHA program is an important step forward in improving the quality of health care for the Ethiopian people,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom, the Minster of Health in Ethiopia. “This groundbreaking program is a model for improving managerial and executive skills throughout our health system in general and hospital services in particular.”

Launched in 2008 at Jimma University, the MHA is an intensive two-year executive program that combines academic preparation, practical application in the hospital setting and continuous mentoring by Yale faculty and staff. Yale faculty members work closely with faculty at Jimma University to develop course curriculum and assist in classroom instruction, laying the groundwork for the long-term sustainability of the program.

The goal of the MHA program is to produce a network of professional Chief Executive Officers committed to improving hospital quality in Ethiopia. With the graduation of the first class, nearly one-quarter of all Ethiopian hospitals will have a highly trained CEO. In addition, individual hospitals with CEOs in the program have already reported substantial improvements including reduced length of stay from 10 to 7 days and reduced post-surgical infection rates from 10% to 2%, highlighting greater efficiency and quality of care.


“Management is often overlooked when you are trying to improve access and the quality of care,” said Elizabeth Bradley, Ph.D., faculty director of GHLI and director of the Yale Global Health Initiative. “But it can be the key to unlocking the capacity of the health system to deliver high quality care and services.”

The MHA program at Jimma University is part of the larger Ethiopian Hospital Management Initiative (EHMI), which was launched in 2006 as a partnership between Yale, CHAI and the Ethiopian Ministry of Health. The goal of EHMI is to build management and leadership capacity in the health sector and establish health management as a profession in Ethiopia. Building on the success of the program at Jimma University, the MHA program will expand to include Addis Ababa University this fall through the support of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Global Health Leadership Institute at Yale University was launched in 2009 to develop the next generation of global health leaders at Yale and around the world through innovative educational and research programs. For more information on the GHLI and the Ethiopia program, go to www.yale.edu/ghli.

Contact Information:

Marilyn Wilkes

The Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale

(203) 432-3413