Health Development Partners (HDP) in Uganda bid farewell to Dr. Yonas Tegegn Woldemariam, whose six-year tour of duty as WHO Representative to Uganda comes to an end this month.

During the July HDP meeting, hosted at WHO Uganda country office, the group acknowledged Dr. Yonas’ unwavering six-year commitment to improving the health and wellbeing of Uganda’s population. The group presented to him a memoire plaque. WHO is a permanent co-chair and secretariate of the HDP group.

“Dr. Yonas, you truly excelled at convening and rallying development partners around a common cause especially during the emergency outbreaks of COVID-19 and Ebola. We attribute a lot of the success that Uganda has registered in emergency preparedness and response to your able leadership and support,” said Dr. Rose Okot-Chono, the Team Lead of Health System Strengthening at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Chair of the HDP group.

WHO is a permanent co-chair and secretariate of the HDP group. The group comprises bilateral, multilateral development partners and UN agencies with a presence in Uganda that support the health sector in the country. The Uganda Health Development Partners group has been actively engaged in health-related initiatives since 1997. Its three main objectives are: to provide a forum for coordination between partners working in the health sector to align their actions with government plans and budgets; to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the implementation of the health sector development plan; and to strengthen accountability between government and development partners.

While appreciating the recognition, Dr. Yonas urged the HDP group to continue pushing for a committed and well-facilitated health workforce coupled with more efficiency, transparency, and accountability in the health sector.

“Uganda has a great link between development partners and the official government structure. Over the past six years we have collectively contributed to improving programmatic efficiency and accountability in the health care service delivery system. Let us continue advancing Uganda’s health agenda,” said Dr. Yonas.

At the same meeting, the HDP group also bid farewell to Dr. Mohamed El Munir A. Safieldin, the outgoing UNICEF Representative and Dr. Atnafu Getachewe, UNICEF’s Health and HIV manager.