The Centre for Innovative Drug Development and Therapeutic Trials for Africa (CDT-Africa) of Addis Ababa University has established a Unit for Health Evidence and Policy (UHEP), which aims to enhance research uptake for health policymaking, promote evidence-based practice, create a platform for health policy research, policy dialogue and hub for endogenous capacity building in Ethiopia and Africa at large. The four main focus areas of the UHEP include:

1. Serve as a capacity building platform on research implementation framework development, leadership, and health policy communication;
2. Conduct evidence synthesis through systematic review, and other rigorous approaches;
3. Facilitate evidence uptake for health policymaking and practice through stakeholder analysis, policy dialogue, theory of change and research uptake framework development; and
4. Lay a foundation for health policy research, networking and partnership within the country and overseas.

The UHEP is a collaborative project between Addis Ababa University and the Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS), and University of Sussex, UK. It is funded by the Wellcome Trust. The UHEP is being piloted initially on research evidence uptake for Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) policymaking and practice in Ethiopia and eastern Africa. The work is being implemented in partnership with the National Policy Studies Institute (PSI), and the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) of Ethiopia