On25 December 2025, the Addis Continental Institute of Public Health (ACIPH) hosted a policy engagement event atHaile Grand Hotel, Addis Ababa, as part of theDASH project’s policy engagement and research transfer work package.
The event brought togetherrepresentatives from the community as well as governmental and non-governmental organization stakeholders on adolescent issues. Sector officials, policymakers, researchers, program managers, parents, teachers, school counselors and adolescents were in attendance.
It aimed tointroduce focus areas of the project, share the preliminary findings and co-created interventions from the community-based DASH study within the Addis HDSS site. It featured presentations on nutrition & physical activity, mental health & violence andsexual & reproductive health interventions among urban adolescents.
Opening remarks byProf. Yemane Berhane, Director of ACIPH and Principal Investigator, emphasized the urgent need to prioritizeurban adolescents, a population often overlooked in health interventions. Then presentations fromthe lead researchers on the project background and interventions, andwere presented particularly from preliminary findings from a 2024 survey of 1,836 adolescents and youth aged 10–24 in Addis Ababa.
An interactiveQ&A session andgroup discussions enabled participants to provide valuable feedback on the evidence, intervention design, and implementation strategies. Stakeholders highlighted the importance of peer-led approaches, age-appropriate content, community and religious engagement, inclusion of disability and social media considerations, and alignment withexisting national frameworks to ensure sustainability and scale-up.
The event concluded with reflections and closing remarks fromDr. Dagmawit Tewahido, reinforcing the project’s commitment toevidence-informed policy action and collaborative efforts to improve adolescent health outcomes in urban Ethiopia.