Background: Health being the major development input, it was given due considerations in thernmillennium development goals to be achieved by 2015 by developing countries includingrnEthiopia. The health service coverage, utilization and quality in Ethiopia are poor and have notrnshown significant gains over time. The sector has been dominated by the public sector withrnlimited involvement by other actors. The government could not handle the problem alone.rnCognizant of these facts, the need to diversify actors in the health sector was given priority inrnthe health policy as well as other policy documents. The Iddir is one of civil societyrnorganizations in Ethiopia that has recently gained some attention as potential partner inrndevelopment, both by the government and non governmental organizations.rnObjectives To explore partnership potentials between Iddirs, the government, and nongovernmentalrnorganizations in the health sector.rnMethods: Cross-sectional exploratory study was conducted from January to March, 2007 usingrnboth qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection. For the quantitative survey, arnsample of 422 Iddir leaders were randomly selected from the Iddirs currently registered withrnthe ten Sub Cities of Addis Ababa for interview. For the qualitative part, four focus grouprndiscussions were organized with Iddir leaders and Iddir members to explore their views on thernimportance and willingness of establishing partnerships between Iddirs and the government andrnnon governmental organizations. Eleven in-depth interviews were also conducted with keyrninformants drawn from non-governmental organizations working in partnerships with Iddirsrnvirnand relevant government agencies to explore their views on the significance and possibilities ofrnestablishing partnerships with Iddirs in health development.rnResult: Out of the 422 Iddirs surveyed, 228 (54.0%) are currently engaged in health relatedrnactivities in one way or another. The majority, 216 (51.2%), are involved in HIV/AIDSrnprevention, care and support activities. One hundred thirteen (26.8%) are offering some form ofrnhealth care financing services to their members. Ninety-seven of them (22.9%) are alsorninvolved in environmental health activities. In the qualitative study, the need to establishrnpartnerships with Iddirs has been emphasized by participants from governmental and nonrngovernmental organizations. Iddirs have also expressed their willingness to go in to suchrnpartnerships, although some are still suspicious in partnering with the government. Participantsrnalso expressed the need to build the capacity of Iddirs to be active development partners andrnimprove their working environment.rnConclusion: In general, a number of opportunities and entry points exist to establishrnpartnerships with Iddirs in public health efforts. The study has found that Iddirs, which werernonce providing only funeral services, are coming out as development actors and partners.rnMoreover, they are modifying their by-laws to include issues pertaining to pressing publicrnhealth problems such as HIV/AIDS. There is also increasing recognition on the role of Iddirsrnin development by both the government and NGOs. The public health activities the Iddirs arerncurrently engaged in can serve as potential entry points into partnerships with them for allrnconcerned. However, a number of important contextual factors have been identified that needrnto be considered in initiating partnership working arrangements with Iddirs. Such initiativernmust accommodate their fears, concerns and suspicions if it has to prove effective.