Improvement Co-production and learning team
The Quality Improvement, Value-Driven Healthcare System, Data & Impact work at Healthcare System Impact Syndicate Africa (ACSIS) leads initiatives that strengthen Ethiopia’s health system by embedding a culture of continuous learning, accountability and measurable results.
The team works to optimize the performance of primary and maternal health services through data-informed decision-making, evidence-based quality improvement (QI) methods and value-based approaches that prioritize patient outcomes over volume of care. By designing and supporting QI collaboratives, building the capacity of frontline health workers and using data to drive equitable resource allocation, the team ensures that every intervention delivers tangible, sustainable impact.
Their work bridges strategy and implementation translating evidence into action to make care safer, more efficient and more respectful across all levels of the health system
This body of evidence serves as a cornerstone for knowledge generation, policy influence and health system improvement. It not only contributes to the scientific community through peer-reviewed publications, implementation research and conference presentations, but also informs real-world decision-making within Ethiopia’s health sector. By systematically capturing and analyzing program data, the team translates operational experiences into actionable policy inputs for the Ministry of Health and regional health bureaus turning field-based insights into scalable, evidence-backed solutions.
This approach ensures that evidence does not remain confined to academic spaces but actively shapes strategies, guidelines and resource allocation. In doing so, ACSIS bridges the gap between implementation and impact, demonstrating how rigorous, context-driven data can both advance research and directly strengthen national health policy and practice
ACSIS had the honor of co-organizing the 1st South Ethiopia Regional Healthcare Quality & Innovation Summit “The Next Frontier: Towards a Culture of Continuous Improvement in Healthcare” with the motto: Resilience is a Necessity; Excellence is a Choice.
Preparation began with a pre-event webinar featuring global and continental leaders in patient safety, including Dr Peter Lachman and Dr Lydia Okutoyi, who grounded us in global perspectives on resilience and system transformation.
Held in Arbaminch from February 19th to 20th 2026, the summit brought together national leaders, regional health bureaus, innovators, academia, implementing partners and frontline providers to move from policy to practice and from projects to institutionalized system improvement.
🔹 Quality is a leadership responsibility
It must be embedded in governance, financing and frontline practice.
🔹 Data must be actionable
Dashboards and effective coverage metrics should drive decisions, not just fill reports.
🔹 Innovation must close equity gaps
Solutions should be practical, affordable and designed for the last mile.
🔹 Resilience is built before crises
The region’s response to outbreaks demonstrated that strong systems enable rapid action when shocks occur.
🔹 Task-sharing works
Through the OSSYM model, safe expansion of surgical services at primary level is not only possible, it is happening.
Day 1 focused on national and regional direction, with strong leadership from the Ministry of Health and the South Ethiopia Regional Health Bureau, reinforcing that quality and innovation are central to achieving Universal Health Coverage and system resilience.
Day 2 moved to operationalization, translating innovation into Primary healthcare action, advancing digital solutions like ViTALS, and celebrating tangible progress in surgical task-sharing. The OSSYM graduation ceremony highlighted real capacity built across South Ethiopia, South West Ethiopia and Central Ethiopia.
All zones in the region signed a collective Call to Action committing to prioritize quality, safety, innovation and equity and to mobilize sustained resources to support them.
From March 5–7, 2024 Ethiopia’s Ministry of Health hosted its 8th National Healthcare Innovation and Quality Summit at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa. This summit was held under the theme “Promoting Health System Innovation to Enhance Healthcare Quality, Safety and Equity”
By sharing pilot results on task‑sharing and digital coaching at the summit, ACSIS illustrated exactly how health system innovation can lead to safer, more respectful care aligning with the summit’s focus on innovation, safety and equity
In mid‑July 2024 ACSIS staff joined the Oromia Regional Health Bureau’s 3rd Annual Quality Improvement Summit in Adama. The summit’s theme was “Whole System Thinking for Improved Health Outcomes,” reflecting a systems approach to healthcare quality.
This theme matches ACSIS’s philosophy of “systems thinking” recognizing that improving maternal and primary care requires coordinated efforts across facilities, communities and policy levels. By presenting examples of integrated referral networks and data‑driven primary care solutions, ACSIS demonstrated how a “whole system” focus can improve outcomes
In late September 2024 ACSIS attended ISQua’s 40th International Conference in Istanbul, where the theme was “Health for People and Planet: Building Bridges to a Sustainable Future”
This theme, emphasizing patient safety, quality improvement, co‑production and sustainability, strongly resonates with ACSIS’s focus on evidence‑based, people‑centered care and systemic change. By presenting its primary‐care innovations at ISQua 2024, ACSIS highlighted how collaborative resource m mobilization and optimization supported maternal and SRH service utilization in primary care setups in Ethiopia through the papers presented
ACSIS participated in ISQua’s 41st conference held Oct 12–15, 2025 in São Paulo. The 2025 theme “Inclusive Health Systems: Navigating Challenges with Technology and Humanity” aligns with ACSIS’s equity commitment (ensuring access for marginalized communities), while the emphasis on technology and humanity parallels ACSIS’s use of digital supervision tools balanced with person‑centered design. At this conference, ACSIS leaders shared how integrating innovation and co‑production of care models advances quality within broader health systems.At the 41st ISQua International Conference ACSIS presented two abstracts on Increasing Postpartum Family Planning (PPFP) Uptake Using a Bundle Intervention and Cervical Cancer Service Integration to Increase Screening Uptake showcasing our work to improve equitable access to comprehensive reproductive health services through integrated, evidence-based, and quality-driven approaches in Ethiopia.
On 17 September 2025 the Ministry of Health marked World Patient Safety Day at ALERT Comprehensive Hospital in Addis Ababa. The event carried the global 2025 slogan “Patient Safety from the Start!” and emphasized safe care for every newborn and child
ACSIS’s participation tied directly to this focus: our work on improving maternal and newborn care is fundamentally about safety ensuring every birth is followed by safe, respectful care. By aligning with the WHO theme (safe pediatric care from birth) and spotlighting local quality‑improvement projects, ACSIS helped reinforce the message that investing in safety at the very start of life is essential to healthier communities.
1.Improving Immediate Postpartum Family Planning Uptake (IPPFP) Through High-Impact Bundle Intervention in Primary Healthcare Units, Ethiopia
The P-chart analysis demonstrated a significant increase in average IPPFP uptake, rising from a preintervention baseline of 3.36% over 12 weeks to 45.68% during the 16-week intervention period. Among contraceptive methods, Long-Acting Reversible contraceptives (LARCs) were the most frequently chosen, accounting for 86.47% of selections, with implants being the most preferred method. Partner involvement was associated with a notable increase in adoption rates, with IPPFP uptake reaching 75% during its initiation in the fourth week of implementation
Figure: P Chart displaying the trends in IPPFP method uptake
2.Screening our way to Equity: Improving Cervical Cancer Screening Outputs Through Service Integration at Primary Health Care Units, South Wollo, Ethiopia
• Key Findings:
The weekly average of the number of women screened at the health center jumped from 10 to 41 in 9 weeks. The average number further increased to 61 after the integration of well-baby and immunization clinics. The percentage of women linked and screened from family planning and regular outpatient clinics every week reached 78% and 71% respectively, from less than 5% before intervention. This led to an increase in the weekly positive detection rate from zero to 4.
3.Optimizing Decision-to-Delivery Interval for Emergency Caesarean Sections at Bishoftu Hospital- A Quality Improvement Project
• Key Findings:
The improvement project commenced on the 18th of July 2024. Within four months post implementation, the average DDI calculated from 151 caesarean sections during the specified period reduced from 66 minutes to 42.4 minutes. This is a 63 % reduction from the baseline. Data for each code was plotted separately to assess adherence to the pre-set expected time. Code Red conditions were conducted in average time of 27.7 minutes, with a 2-minute delay to the 25-minute target set by the protocol. Code Orange conditions on the other hand were conducted with an average time of 46.4 minutes, with an approximate 11-minute delay to the expected time set by the protocol. Lastly, Code Yellow conditions were conducted with an average time of 57 minutes, with a 2-minute delay from the time set. The DDI for Code Red conditions ranged from the shortest 13 minutes to the longest 69 minutes whereas DDI for Code Orange conditions ranged betwwen14 and 138 minutes. The DDI for Code Yellow conditions on the other hand ranged from 11 minutes to 190 minutes.
Figure: Code Yellow Data