EHEPA Seminar 39

Title: From Global Consensus to Local Action: Driving Health Literacy Forward in Ethiopia

Ethiopian Health Education and Promotion Professionals Association (EHEPA)

Dr. Guda Alemayehu—a globally recognized Ethiopian health literacy leader and co-author of the recently published Economist Impact report, “From Consensus to Action: Driving Progress on Health Literacy. This seminal report, developed with leading global experts, reveals that low health literacy affects nearly one in four adults across 40 countries, costing health systems billions annually. More critically, it shifts the responsibility from individual patients to systems, governments, and professionals.

Friday May 8, 2026 ⋅ 11am – 12pm (East Africa Time)

Virtual

https://meet.google.com/ipe-tkag-xuc?hs=224

In this one-hour session, I will translate global consensus into actionable insights for Ethiopia. Drawing on my leadership of the African Health Literacy Network and lessons from successful national programs (including Ethiopia’s own Health Extension Programme), I will outline five concrete opportunities for action: adopting a whole-of-society approach, making health literacy a core organizational capability, co-creating inclusive information resources, combating misinformation, and strengthening measurement. The presentation will help to understand how health literacy can drive health equity, save lives, and reduce costs—starting right here in Ethiopia.