Ethiopia will begin protecting the 2.8 million children born in the country each year with a vaccine against rotavirus， which leads to severe， and often fatal， diarrhoea. The country has one of the greatest burdens of rotavirus in the world， accounting for 6% of all rotavirus-related deaths globally. Ethiopia is the 17th country to introduce rotavirus vaccines with GAVI Alliance support.
　　"Few things in the world have a greater impact on public health than vaccines，" said Dr Seth Berkley， CEO of the GAVI Alliance. "Rotavirus vaccine offers the best hope for preventing the deadly dehydrating diarrhoea caused by this disease and preventing thousands of deaths of young children in Ethiopia." "Diarrhoea takes the lives of more than 38，500 Ethiopian children under-five each year， rotavirus being responsible for close to two-thirds of the deaths，" said Ethiopia's Minister of Health， Dr Admasu Kesetebirhan. "Providing rotavirus vaccines to our children and integrating them with appropriate diarrhoeal disease control interventions will further support our efforts to reduce child mortality." Ethiopia has undertaken significant work to introduce the rotavirus vaccine nationally. It has significantly expanded its cold chain facilities nationwide and deployed health extension workers to provide immunisation services in each village with at least 5，000 people， in a country with 84 million people spread across 1.1 million square kilometres.