INNOVETH – Innovative Health Intervention for Ethiopian Migrant Domestic Workers in the Middle East

Each year, hundreds of thousands of Ethiopian women migrate to the Middle East to work as domestic workers, many facing overwork, isolation, discrimination, and limited access to healthcare. The INNOVETH (Innovative Health Intervention for Ethiopian Migrant Domestic Workers in the Middle East) project seeks to address these challenges through an evidence-based, data-driven, and technology-enhanced approach to global health.

By combining public health, psychology, migration studies, data science, and artificial intelligence (AI), INNOVETH develops innovative ways to identify health risks, provide targeted support, and strengthen the wellbeing and resilience of migrant domestic workers (MDWs).

The project leverages big data from pre-migration medical screenings, AI-powered risk stratification models, and mobile health technologies to design and implement a transdisciplinary intervention package. Core elements include:

Peer support networks and self-help groups for emotional and social empowerment,
Mobile health applications providing educational materials, counselling, and crisis response,
Digital skills and health training addressing mental, sexual, and reproductive health (MSRH),
Data-driven risk models guiding tailored, context-sensitive healthcare interventions.

INNOVETH will implement and rigorously evaluate the intervention using a cluster-randomised controlled trial to measure impact and cost-effectiveness. Beyond the intervention, the project also focuses on capacity building—training PhD students and postdoctoral researchers in Ethiopia and partnering countries in the fields of health research, AI, and epidemiology.

The initiative demonstrates how transdisciplinary collaboration and digital innovation can improve health equity for marginalized populations. By linking social networks, community empowerment, and data science, INNOVETH contributes to transforming how health interventions are delivered to migrant populations worldwide.

Project Partners

Dr. Kassahun Habtamu, Addis Ababa University (Ethiopia) – Principal Investigator
Dr. Dawit Shawel Abebe, Oslo Metropolitan University (Norway)
Dr. Mohammed Sanni Ali, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (UK)
Dr. Samrawit Solomon Ethiopia, St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College (Ethiopia)
Dr. Berhanu Seyoum, Armauer Hansen Research Institute (Ethiopia)
Dr. Seid Muhie Yimam, Universität Hamburg, Hub of Computing and Data Science (Germany)

Collaborating institutions include Ethiopian ministries, regional health bureaus, NGOs such as Agar Ethiopia and Beza for Women, and Ethiopian embassies in the Gulf region.

More information https://innoveth.org