Leulseged Ageze

Leulseged Ageze is an economist with nearly 20 years of experience directing health sector reform and health care financing technical assistance activities in Ethiopia. His technical expertise includes health insurance, fiscal decentralization, strategic planning, and policy development.

Leulseged has provided technical assistance and leadership for four USAID health financing and health systems strengthening projects. One of his most significant contributions has been supporting the introduction and expansion of community-based health insurance and other health care financing reforms in Ethiopia. These reforms have mobilized resources to the health sector, strengthened health facility governance, and improved the quality, accessibility, and utilization of health services.

Leulseged is currently the chief of party for the USAID Health Financing Improvement Program, which supports the government of Ethiopia in strengthening and institutionalizing health care financing initiatives throughout the country. These efforts support improvements in equity, accessibility, utilization, and quality of health care services for Ethiopian citizens.

As director and technical lead, he oversees the project and its approximately 90 in-country staff. Under his leadership, the Program has assisted counterparts to:

• Expand implementation of health care reforms across the country, with a particular emphasis on developing regional states and urban settings. With Program support, Ethiopia more than doubled the number of districts implementing community-based health insurance and the percent of the population enrolled in it.
• Set up dedicated health care financing organizational structures in regional and district level government to institutionalize health care financing activity planning, implementation, training, and monitoring.
• Design effective arrangements to transition health care financing reform training conducted by the Program and predecessor projects to local Ethiopian counterparts.

Leulseged was previously chief of party for two other Abt-led health sector reform projects in Ethiopia.

Prior to working with Abt, Leulseged held leadership positions in Ethiopia’s Ministry of Federal Affairs and the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development. In these roles, he formulated comprehensive social and economic development policies and programs for developing regional states. He also supervised and monitored federal institutions in their implementation of planned programs and worked to improve government monitoring and evaluation practices.

Expertise:

• Health economics
• Health care financing
• Policy and strategic planning
• Decentralization
• Project management and technical direction

Key Projects:

• USAID Health Financing Improvement Program
• USAID Health Sector Financing Reform/Health Finance and Governance Project
• USAID Health Sector Financing Reform Project
• USAID Essential Services for Health in Ethiopia II Project

Countries Served In:

• Ethiopia