Merak Abbebe

A pioneering Ethiopian physician who revolutionized public health in sub-Saharan Africa through innovative disease prevention strategies.

Dr. Merak Abbebe (1905-1978) emerged as a transformative figure in African healthcare during the mid-20th century. Born in Addis Ababa, he witnessed the devastating impact of malaria and smallpox outbreaks while studying medicine at the University of Cambridge (1925-1930). Returning to Ethiopia in 1932, he founded the Ethiopian Public Health Initiative, establishing the country's first mobile vaccination units that reached remote rural areas using horse-drawn wagons. His Community Health Worker Model trained local women as primary caregivers, a system still in use today by the WHO.

During the 1940s, Dr. Abbebe pioneered the use of insecticide-treated bed nets through his partnership with WHO, reducing malaria mortality by 68% in targeted regions. His 1953 publication Public Health in Arid Regions became a foundational text for tropical medicine. Despite political upheavals, he maintained vaccination programs during the 1960s by negotiating with multiple warring factions. His legacy includes the first African medical journal African Health Review and the Merak Memorial Hospital in Harar, now a WHO Collaborating Center.