Radar | Mar 11,2024
Feb 27 , 2021
By Halima Abate (MD)
Around the world, there are wars taking place within countries that lead to displacement and violence. Ethiopia is no different, unfortunately, with a worrying armed conflict in Tigray Regional State that started in November 2020.
There should be no doubt. Conflict affects all parts of a country, particularly in terms of growth and development, mainly if it is protracted. Moreover, they profoundly impact people that are not active combatants, especially the vulnerable. Wars destroy complex socioeconomic infrastructure and arrangements, including those related to health.
It vividly generates tension between the needs and availability of social protection. It is such areas that are in dire need of humanitarian coverage and access for the vulnerable. It is also the case that these parts are likely to lag behind and get a decreased accessibility to coverage.
During times of armed conflict, countries are generally unable or unwilling to provide adequate health services to their population – in the latter case, it is usually the fear that such services might be abused. In such situations, the public should find the courage in its convictions to denounce attacks on health and health-related infrastructure and lack of access to aid services, whoever might be the culprit.
It is critical to speak out loud and clear that shortages in medical supplies, health personnel and a health workforce could have devastating impacts upon the vulnerable and could only worsen the situation. When citizens cannot access health services due to increased insecurity, or legal and administrative barriers, the health concern will only grow in severity and its long-term consequences. It means the health workforce, nursing homes, pharmacies, community clinics and emergency care services are closed, with little alternative avenues for desperate people with a health emergency.
Due to insecurity and instability, travelling to and from health facilities can be difficult and dangerous. This much is understandable. But creating safe access by both sides of the fighting for such critical services to pass through should not be at all debatable.
The problem, of course, only improves to a degree when there is indeed access to humanitarian and health services. There is a tendency to focus on emergencies, which should be, but there is also an under-prioritisation of sexual, reproductive health or mental issues. Unsustainable, short-term humanitarian interventions do not readily transition to longer-term development work. Health actors are also insufficiently made accountable to affected populations for their performance – chances of suing over medical malpractice are nil – and state-centric health frameworks in countries such as Ethiopia cannot meet the needs of the populace. This is especially true if the nation has a health system stretched by the demands of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Contemplating our country’s scenario, first and foremost, there should be federal government recognition of the overriding need for public health intervention and unfettered access to aid workers to address the problem. It should result in directing the federal government's machinery in alleviating the health hardships of the populace in vulnerable regions.
Among others, the preparedness for disasters should be rationalised, following international laws and experience, to make it consistent and its constructive impacts long-lasting. There should be the management of pre-impact, impact, and post-impact analysis followed by recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction. Hence, there should be an implementation of context-specific health policies and interventions where key development actors participate in health clusters and coordinate among themselves. They should facilitate the exchange of comprehensive information with humanitarian health actors, including performance accountability and financial accountability. Nothing less should be expected when it comes to the unfolding situation in the country's north.
PUBLISHED ON
Feb 27,2021 [ VOL
21 , NO
1087]
Radar | Mar 11,2024
Agenda | Mar 02,2024
Fortune News | Nov 06,2021
Obituary | Mar 13,2021
Sunday with Eden | Mar 23,2024
Radar | Apr 21,2024
Radar | Aug 07,2021
Agenda | Jan 29,2022
Editorial | Nov 29,2020
Commentaries | Oct 21,2023
Photo Gallery | 97666 Views | May 06,2019
Photo Gallery | 89903 Views | Apr 26,2019
My Opinion | 67473 Views | Aug 14,2021
Commentaries | 65863 Views | Oct 02,2021
Editorial | May 02,2024
Feb 24 , 2024 . By MUNIR SHEMSU
Abel Yeshitila, a real estate developer with a 12-year track record, finds himself unable to sell homes in his latest venture. Despite slash...
Feb 10 , 2024 . By MUNIR SHEMSU
In his last week's address to Parliament, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) painted a picture of an economy...
Jan 7 , 2024
In the realm of international finance and diplomacy, few cities hold the distinction that Addis Abeba doe...
Sep 30 , 2023 . By AKSAH ITALO
On a chilly morning outside Ke'Geberew Market, Yeshi Chane, a 35-year-old mother cradling her seven-month-old baby, stands amidst the throng...
May 2 , 2024
For successive generations of Ethiopia's tax authorities, the chore of tax collection...
Apr 27 , 2024
The Prosperity Party (PP) - Prosperitians - is charting a course through treacherous...
Apr 20 , 2024
In a departure from its traditionally opaque practices, the National Bank of Ethiopia...
Apr 13 , 2024
In the hushed corridors of the legislative house on Lorenzo Te'azaz Road (Arat Kilo)...
May 3 , 2024
The feel-good life coaching industry would have people believe that success is not only about showing up in the swirling whirl of modern lif...
May 4 , 2024 . By BERSABEH GEBRE
Brook Taye (PhD), the director general of the newly established Ethiopian Capital Market Authority (ECMA), has issued a stern warning to com...
May 4 , 2024 . By MUNIR SHEMSU
Dreams of an agriculture sector unshackled from the whims of rain remain tethered to the struggling Minis...
May 4 , 2024
Large public projects exceeding 250 million Br will be required to use Building Information Modelling (BI...