Zeleke Abebaw Mekonnen
Associate Professor
Title: Associate Professor of Public Health Informatics
E-mail: Zeleke Abebaw
P.o.Box: 196
Address: Gondar, Ethiopia.
Dr. Zeleke Abebaw is a senior public health specialist at the Ministry of Health-Ethiopia. He is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Public Health Informatics in the Institute of Public Health, University of Gondar, Ethiopia.
He received his PhD from the University of Gondar in Public Health Informatics in June, 2021. His PhD focused on measuring the effectiveness of SMS based mHealth interventions in improving completeness and timelines of childhood immunization in Ethiopia. Zeleke has MSc in Biostatistics & Health Informatics from Mekele University and BSc in Health Officer from Jimma University, Ethiopia.
He has over 10 years of experience as a public health professional and researcher. As a public health specialist at the Ministry of Health, he has ample experience in the national health system of Ethiopia across different regions. Moreover, as adjunct staff to the University of Gondar, he offers courses to Post graduate students and advise PhD students in the areas of Health information systems and eHealth technologies. He has a solid background both in public health and health informatics, with specific training and expertise in Health information system and public health.
Zeleke is currently a core team of eHealthLab-Ethiopia and a member of different national and global health system projects in the area of eHealth, mHealth and Health data quality and data use-with funding from major national and international organizations including; Ethiopian Ministry of Health, WHO, UNICEF, Melinda and Gates Foundation, CDC and others.
Under the eHealth Lab, he has successfully coordinated several research projects to completion. He has been leading the Implementation Research for Immunization (IRI ) project funded by the World Health Organization (WHO), a three-year collaborative project implemented between 2019- 2021 to strengthen the routine immunization program in Ethiopia. He also served as a Data Analytics Team Lead for the Capacity Building and Mentorship partnership (CBMP) project with the aim to strengthen the health information system in Amhara and Benishangul-Gumuz regions of Ethiopia. He also led an implementation science research on ICBMP project funded by Melinda and Gates foundation, a two-year collaborative project implemented between 2018 and 2019 aimed to provide capacity building and mentorship for immunization program managers and vaccinators through local universities
His main research interests lie in the area of mHealth, eHealth, Health information system, Maternal and child health, and implementation science. He has also collaborated actively with researchers in several other disciplines. With this, he has published more than 50 articles in peer-reviewed journals.
- Data use in immunization program to improve data quality and ensure accountability, implementation science study.
- Capacity building and mentorship Program (CBMP) in Amhara and Benshangul-Gumuz regions.
- Multilevel analysis of individual and community level factors associated with institutional delivery in Ethiopia. Published on BMC Research Notes Journal and available at : http://www.biomedcentral.com/1756-0500/8/376
- Individual and community level determinants of childhood full immunization in Ethiopia: a multilevel analysis. Published on BMC Public Health Journal and available at : http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/15/972
- Role of reminder based mobile health interventions in improving child full immunization coverage and timeliness in North Gondar zone, Ethiopia: Cluster randomized trial (PhD research topic)
- Effects of Text Message Reminders on Routine Childhood Vaccination: A Systematic Review and Meta Analysis (on Publication process).