ACSIS had the honor of co-organizing the 1st South Ethiopia Regional Healthcare Quality & Innovation Summit titled The Next Frontier: Towards a Culture of Continuous Improvement in Healthcare with the motto: Resilience is a Necessity; Excellence is a Choice!
Preparation for this event started with our pre-event webinar moderated by ACSIS and held on January 29th 2026. Our speakers were Dr Peter Lachman and Dr. Lydia Okutoyi. Dr Peter Lachman (M. D, MPH, M.Med, M.B.B. Ch, B.A. FRCPCH, FCP (SA), FRCPI) is a global authority in patient safety and quality improvement, editor of the Oxford University Press Handbooks on Patient Safety, Medical Leadership and Quality Improvement, former CEO of ISQua and Director of the Patient Safety Movement Foundation Kiani Global Fellowship. Dr. Lydia Okutoyi (MBChB, MMed, MPH, SQIL, FISQua) is the director of Healthcare Quality at Kenyatta National Hospital, Kenya, founding President of the Society for Quality Health Care in Kenya and a founding director of ACQUIRE Africa. Lydia has been instrumental in advancing patient safety nationally and across the continent, and her leadership has been recognized with the 2023 Patient Safety Africa Award, induction into the ISQua International Academy of Quality and Safety and a recipient of Presidential State Commendation (OGW). Our speakers focused on global perspectives of patient safety and healthcare system resilience.
Held in Arbaminch city from February 19th to 20th 2026, the summit brought national leaders, regional health bureaus, innovators, academia, implementing partners and frontline providers together to move from policy to practice and to embed continuous improvement across services.
Over the two days, participants converged on clear, practical lessons and an agreed direction: quality is a leadership responsibility and must be institutionalized across governance, financing and frontline practice; data must be actionable (dashboards and effective-coverage metrics); innovation must be designed to serve equity and the last mile; task-sharing and system redesign can safely expand operative services at primary level and resilience is built before crises through systems thinking, networks and strong leadership. Collectively these lessons moved the region from inspiration to a call for sustained resources, local innovation, measurement for equity and stronger links between primary care and hospitals shifting continuous improvement from a technical exercise into a cultural expectation for the health system.
Day 1 Highlights: Setting the National and Regional Direction
The summit opened with a beautiful traditional music and dancing from the region and opening remarks made from the South Ethiopia Regional Health Bureau (SERHB), led by Ato Endashaw Shibiru, SERHB Head and facilitated by Ato Nafkot Birhanu, SERHB Vice Head. The keynote remark was made by Dr Abas Hassen, Lead Executive Officer for Health System Innovation and Quality at the Ministry of Health (HSIQ–LEO). Dr. Abas Hassen emphasized: Ethiopia’s national journey in healthcare quality improvement Institutionalizing quality as a system function and not a project and moving from fragmented initiatives to integrated system-wide improvement. The Ministry positioned quality and innovation as central pillars for achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and resilience especially during crises such as the Marburg outbreak, which the region along with the Ministry of Health and partners were able to effectively manage in a short period of time. A photo and poster exhibition was also launched showcasing selected quality improvement initiatives from hospitals across the region and a photographic display of the region’s cultural richness and health initiatives. The poster exhibition highlighted real QI projects that participants used as practical learning tools; the photo exhibition celebrated community partnerships and motivated participants to replicate context-appropriate solutions.
Plenary & breakout sessions
Plenary: “Integrating improvement in the organizational DNA”
Moderator: Dr Berhanetsehay Teklewold (CEO, ACSIS)
Speakers and topics:
Dr Abas Hassen (Lead Executive Officer for Health System Innovation and Quality at the Ministry of Health (HSIQ–LEO): Healthcare improvement in Ethiopia: successes, challenges and way forward (emphasized institutionalizing quality, scaling the Patient Safety Friendly Hospital Framework, and aligning innovation with national priorities
Ephrem Gebreselasie (CEO, Christian Sodo Referral Hospital): Creating a culture of quality: lessons from the private sector
Nebiyou Wendessen (Quality Improvement Advisor, NEST360): Leveraging the power of data for improvement: NEST 360 experience
Agune Ashole (Director General, South Ethiopia Public Health Institute): Quality during turbulent times: adapting to change: Marburg outbreak response
The plenary reinforced that healthcare improvement must move beyond isolated projects into a fully institutionalized system function embedded in leadership, governance, and everyday practice. Participants learned that healthcare operates as a complex adaptive system, meaning linear, one-size-fits-all solutions are insufficient. Sustainable improvement requires systems thinking, strong leadership behavior, and a culture that prioritizes safety and accountability. Data must drive decisions, not simply fill reports and resilience during crises, such as outbreak responses, demonstrated that quality systems built before emergencies are what enable rapid, effective action when shocks occur.
Breakout Session 1: Quality Care for All (UHC & equity)
Moderator: Dr Mikias Teferi (Senior Quality Improvement Advisor, Amref Health Africa Ethiopia)
Presentations:
Nesredin Nursebo (National Healthcare Quality Coordinator, Health System Innovation & Quality LEO, MOH): From access to impact: effective coverage measurement
Dr Bisrat Tamene (Patient Safety Program Consultant at WHO Ethiopia): Patient Safety Friendly Hospital implementation in Ethiopia
Teshome Kebede (Quality Improvement Unit, Arbaminch Hospital): Cumulative antibiogram report: understanding and combating antimicrobial resistance
Dr Wubet Mihretu (Senior Project Manager at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI): Lessons from Network of Care implementation (IHI / AMREF experiences)
Dr Bontu Abera (Program Officer, Co-production, Improvement and Learning Team, ACSIS): Reducing decision-to-delivery interval for emergency cesarean sections: a learning collaborative
Dr Bereket Tesfaye (Health System Innovation & Quality Improvement Director, Dilla University CSH): Improving immediate postpartum family planning utilization (Dilla University Teaching Hospital)
Through this session, participants saw how structured quality improvement methods can significantly improve clinical outcomes, including emergency cesarean response times and postpartum family planning uptake. The Patient Safety Friendly Hospital framework demonstrated that patient safety can be systematically strengthened when leadership commits to it. Discussions on antimicrobial resistance reinforced that antibiotic stewardship is not optional but essential to patient safety.
Breakout Session 2: Innovating for the Last Mile
Moderator: Dr Amanuel Girum (Team lead, Health Innovation, Incubations and Testing Team, ACSIS)
Presentations:
Dr Bereket Zelalem (Innovation Program Officer, Result for Development): Building Ethiopia’s health innovation ecosystem: current progress & future directions
Esayas Gizayalehu (Entrepreneur): Integrated service delivery & information: one-stop center in Jinka
Tizalegn Tesfaye (Dilla University CSH, CEO): Systems innovation: SBFR implementation at Dilla University Referral Hospital
Dr Adane Alto (MD, Pediatrician, Dean of the College of Health Sciences): Social responsibility & community service programs (Arba Minch Health Science College)
Tsegaye H/Gebriel (Senior Biomedical Engineer at Sawla General Hospital): Innovative product development: Sawla General Hospital suction machine
The key lesson from this session was that innovation thrives in supportive ecosystems, not in isolation. Sustainable health innovation requires collaboration between government, academia, implementers and frontline providers. Participants learned that locally developed solutions are often more contextually appropriate and scalable. However, innovation must be practical, affordable and aligned with national priorities to succeed. Most importantly, innovation should close equity gaps and reach underserved populations, not widen disparities.
Breakout Session 3: Quality at the Front and Center: National & Regional Experiences
Moderator: Dr Kasu Tola (CDC foundation consultant seconded to MOH)
Presentations
Gemu Tiru (Health System Equity and Leadership Improvement Desk Leader): National Health Equity Strategy: opportunities, challenges & next steps
Genet Kassa (Monitoring & Evaluation Officer, Amref Primary health project): Mobile health teams: AMREF implementation lessons
Dr Mikias Yenealem (Program Officer, Policy Input Evidence Synthesis Team, ACSIS): The equity challenge in the Ethiopian healthcare system
Wessen Hailemariam (Dilla Town Health Center Head): Equitable access for marginalized urban populations: Dilla City PHCU reform
Dr Abraham Alano (Senior Program Officer, Hailemariam & Roman Foundation): Strengthening systems for accelerated health equity: HRF experience in South Omo
This session showed achieving health equity requires intentional design, targeted strategies, and adaptive implementation at regional and local levels. Mobile health teams, urban PHCU reforms, and tailored interventions for pastoralist and marginalized communities demonstrated that alternative service delivery models are essential to reach last-mile populations. Participants learned that national policies provide direction, but real impact depends on how effectively regions contextualize and operationalize them.
Day 2 moved from strategy to operationalization with summaries, practical adoption of innovation and task-sharing for operative services. Key contributions included a day-summary by Dr Akalu Adefa, sessions on ViTALS digital contact center lessons and translating start-ups into PHC action by ACSIS, an engaging presentation from Dr Misganaw Simeneh and practical innovation adoption by Pazion Cherenet. Task-sharing and surgical care at primary level were addressed in the OSSYM sequence, and Dr Ermias Abate presented the OSSYM task-sharing model. The surgical care journey and next steps were highlighted and the OSSYM graduation and recognition ceremony underscored tangible results.
The OSSYM component including training across South Ethiopia, South West Ethiopia and Central Ethiopia and recognition of trainee general practitioners and training institutions was introduced and celebrated with remarks and involvement from Mr. Israel Ataro, Community Engagement and Primary Health LEO, Ministry of Health. The Ministry of Health’s policy leadership and explicit support for surgical task-sharing were repeatedly underscored in plenary and during OSSYM activities, reinforcing national-regional alignment.
On this day, all zones within the South Ethiopia region, led by Ato Endashaw Shibiru and Ato Nafkot Birhanu on behalf of the South Ethiopia Regional Health Bureau, signed a collective Call to Action to prioritize quality, safety and innovation; to mobilize resources; to sustain quality improvement and operative service initiation activities and to strengthen commitments to improve healthcare equity across zones.
The summit strengthened federal-regional-local collaboration, translated national strategy into concrete regional priorities, showcased locally driven innovation, validated task-sharing for surgical access and produced a publicly signed Call to Action that commits zones and partners to sustained investment in quality, safety and equity. The Ministry of Health’s clear framing of quality as a system responsibility combined with the region’s operational commitments makes this summit a turning point toward continuous improvement across South Ethiopia.