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Background\ud \ud The EQ-5D is a validated and widely used generic measure of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in both healthy individuals and those with various medical conditions. The objective of this study was to test whether EQ-5D-5L is reliable and valid for use among school sample adolescents and those with major mental health disorders in Ethiopia.\ud \ud \ud \ud Methods\ud \ud Participants were recruited from ten sub-districts comprising the Butajira Rural Health Programme (BRHP) and Butajira major mental health disorders center. Data were collected using an Amharic (Ethiopia) EQ-5D-5L self-complete-paper and the questionnaire was administered 10 days after the first completion for test–retest procedures. Two-way mixed-effects models absolute intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to test reliability of the instrument while Kruskal–Wallis rank test with pairwise comparison was used to assess the known group validity of the instrument.\ud \ud \ud \ud Results\ud \ud There were 501 (201 school sample and 300 adolescents with major mental health disorders) participants recruited and 497 were included in the sample for analysis. The ICC was high (ICC > 0.7, p

Objectives\ud \ud There is a growing interest in health technology assessment and economic evaluations in developing countries such as Ethiopia. The objective of this study was to derive an EQ-5D-5L value set from the Ethiopian general population to facilitate cost utility analysis.\ud \ud \ud \ud Methods\ud \ud A nationally representative sample (N = 1050) was recruited using a stratified multistage quota sampling technique. Face-to-face, computer-assisted interviews using the EuroQol Portable Valuation Technology (EQ-PVT) protocol of composite time trade-off (c-TTO) and discrete choice experiments (DCEs) were undertaken to elicit preference scores. The feasibility of the EQ-PVT protocol was pilot tested in a sample of the population (n = 110). A hybrid regression model combining c-TTO and DCE data was used to estimate the final value set.\ud \ud \ud \ud Results\ud \ud In the pilot study, the acceptability of the tasks was good, and there were no special concerns with undertaking the c-TTO and DCE tasks. The coefficients generated from a hybrid model were logically consistent. The predicted values for the EQ-5D-5L ranged from −0.718 to 1. Level 5 anxiety/depression had the largest impact on utility decrement (−0.458), whereas level 5 self-care had the least impact (−0.222). The maximum predicted value beyond full health was 0.974 for the 11112 health state.\ud \ud \ud \ud Conclusions\ud \ud This is the first EQ-5D-5L valuation study in Africa using international valuation methods (c-TTO and DCE) and also the first using the EQ-PVT protocol to derive a value set. We expect that the availability of this value set will facilitate health technology assessment and health-related quality-of-life research and inform policy decision making in Ethiopia.