The World Health Organization (WHO) Ethiopia Country Office has taken significant steps towards decentralizing its public health activities by providing intensive hands-on training to newly recruited regional hub coordinators and administrative assistants. 

The initiative comes in the wake of the implementation of the approved functional review, the subsequent establishment of six regional hubs, and the staff recruitment for the newly established regional hubs. 

The training also followed approval by the Regional Director for opening bank and eImprest accounts for these regional hubs and the sub-delegation of authority to the regional hub coordinators for programmatic and operational oversight of WHO activities in their respective coverage areas. 

Strategically positioned to coordinate WHO's operations in specific geographic areas, the regional hubs are in Addis Ababa (covering Oromia and Addis Ababa), Jijiga (serving Somali, Harari, and Dire Dawa), Mekelle (overseeing Tigray and Afar), Bahr Dar (managing Amhara and Benishangul Gumuz regions), Hawassa (for Sidama, Central, and South Ethiopia Regions), and Gambella (covering Gambella and the Southwest regions).

These regional hubs coordinate all WHO programs within their jurisdictions, ensuring synergy and optimal resource utilization. 

To fully implement its new structure and manage the day-to-day operations of the hubs, the country office has recruited regional coordinators, field hub coordinators, surveillance officers, administrative assistants, and support staff.

The training, which took place from 27th November to 6th December 2023, centered on financial and eImprest management, and standard operating procedures (SOPs) covering programmatic and operational areas for regional hubs to enhance the autonomy of the regional hubs in line with the ongoing decentralization efforts of the country office.
The SOPs training specifically focused on internal controls and processes related to programmatic, financial, and administrative management, including delegation of authority, fixed assets management, inventory and supplies, human resources, procurement, security risk management, and compliance, amongst several others.

 “The delegation of authority to regional hub coordinators necessitated comprehensive training to ensure their understanding of financial and eImprest management and adherence to SOPs for efficient hub operations,” Dr. Nonhlanhla Dlamini, WHO Ethiopia Representative a.i., indicated. 

The delegation of authority includes oversight of all human and physical resources in the respective hubs. 
“The training seeks to equip the regional hub coordinators and administrative assistants with the knowledge required to run hub operations efficiently, following value-for-money principles, ensuring compliance with WHO rules and regulations, including ethical codes and policies against fraud, corruption, and Preventing and Responding to Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment.” Dr. Dlamini added. 

WHO's move towards regional decentralization underscores the need for coordinated planning, harmonized implementation, and holistic reporting of all activities within each regional hub, ensuring responsibility for results and value-for-money oversight. 

The hands-on training and SOP implementation will fortify the regional hubs by creating a framework for efficient, effective, and autonomous WHO operations at the subnational level.