
Radar |
Aug 8 , 2020
By Eden Sahle
Under what seems like a state of political, economic and public health pandemonium, there is an institution that seems to have a steady foot - the Ministry of Health.
No doubt, it is underfunded, suffers from the inefficiency and the institutional inertia that federal and local agencies are infamous for. And given the nature of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which has proven devastating even for developed countries, the cards were already stacked high against it.
But the Ministry has also shown that, for all its shortcomings, it is possible to substantially improve accountability and resourcefulness if there is a will to serve the public’s need.
A good story that can shed light upon this is the experience of a friend of mine who was diagnosed with COVID-19 last month. A medical doctor himself, the inadequate provision of protective equipment did not stop him and his colleagues from carrying out their jobs. But his line of work, which has high exposure to the virus, also meant that he caught it.
During random testing that was carried out at his place of work, he tested positive and was immediately taken to Zewditu Hospital. Like many patients, he was asymptomatic, but becuase he could still pass it on to others, he was admitted to the hospital until his full recovery.
He received daily medical checkups and was freely provided with nutritional meals to speed up his healing process. He was lucky, having beaten the virus in just a couple of weeks. He was granted the immediate help and support he needed that allowed him to get back to his medical practice.
His inspiring testimony says a great deal about the Ministry’s and the Ethiopia Public Health Institute’s priorities and the commendable work they are trying to do on the ground. The leadership has been consistent in its messaging and rigorous on its insistence of protective measures early on.
Perhaps most astounding is the number of tests that have been conducted. At around half a million, this is well ahead of Nigeria and Egypt. It is an encouraging development that, together with the current ubiquity of protective material such as disinfectant and face masks, should give people cause for optimism.
At the moment, there is justified apprehension about the state of the pandemic, which once seemed to have been nipped in the bud. The number of cases has risen to the tens of thousands within a short period, and community transmission is in full bloom. It is not clear, nonetheless how much of this is the agencies fault.
Gatherings and demonstrations are becoming common, and restaurants and cafes are filling up. People have become negligent once the initial apprehension about the virus faded away. Even worse, the people attending these public gatherings and events are being seen without protective masks and in very close proximity with one another, overlooking physical distancing guidelines. It is unfortunate that this is happening even at a time when the virus is surging across the country.
Here, there is not much health agencies will be able to do. Addressing the outbreak was supposed to be approached holistically, and the goodwill of people was indispensable. In the absence of this, it is near impossible to guarantee that the virus will not continue to spread at high numbers.
In Ethiopia, it is unusual to witness an institution doing its job. But it is inspiring that we see changes. Health institutions have risen to the challenge with a reasonable amount of success given its lack of funding and where they have had to start from. However, they will require support as COVID-19 is unlike anything that we have encountered before in a century.
It should alarm us that the country's infection rate is moving ahead of what the weak health system can handle. Our best option is the preventive measures and reminding ourselves of how fatal and serious this pandemic is.
The consequence of avoiding our responsibility means people losing their lives or falling ill, schools remaining closed, unemployment skyrocketing and the fragile economy crumbling under its weight. All of this will happen merely because people become negligent.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, everyone should be accountable to act responsibly, limiting physical distance with others and wearing masks properly. Caution must be strictly practised both at the public and government level. There should be no exception that compromises public well-being.
People who are losing their lives and those who are ill could have been spared had we all done what was expected of us. The onus is not only on the shoulders of the health agencies; it lies on all of our shoulders.
PUBLISHED ON
Aug 08,2020 [ VOL
21 , NO
1058]
Commentaries | Apr 25,2020
Viewpoints | Feb 27,2021
Radar | Aug 29,2020
Radar | Jun 18,2022
Fortune News | Jul 17,2022
Photo Gallery | 83145 Views | May 06,2019
Photo Gallery | 75305 Views | Apr 26,2019
Fineline | 58776 Views | Oct 03,2020
Fortune News | 58527 Views | Jul 18,2020
Dec 24 , 2022
Biniam Mikru heads the department of cabinet affairs under Mayor Adanech Abiebie. But...
Jul 2 , 2022 . By RUTH TAYE
On a rainy afternoon last week, a coffee processing facility in the capital's Akaki-Qality District was abuzz with activ...
Nov 27 , 2021
Against my will, I have witnessed the most terrible defeat of reason and the most sa...
Nov 13 , 2021
Plans and reality do not always gel. They rarely do in a fast-moving world. Every act...
Dec 2 , 2023
The symphony of traffic noise in Addis Abeba is not just a sign of life, but a siren...
Nov 25 , 2023
Ethiopia's quest to develop a functioning capital market is a demanding yet not unach...
Nov 18 , 2023
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) has made a fervent call for landlocked Ethiopia to ga...
Nov 11 , 2023
In November last year, a ray of hope pierced the gloomy skies of Ethiopia as the Pret...
Dec 2 , 2023 . By MUNIR SHEMSU
Mamo Mihretu, the governor of the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), has outlined a com...
Dec 2 , 2023 . By AKSAH ITALO
BGI Ethiopia, one of the largest brewing companies, is in the throes of a major trans...
Minister of Agriculture, Girma Amentie (PhD), is leading a charge to overhaul the fer...
Dec 2 , 2023 . By AKSAH ITALO
Amidst accession to a cross-regional trade, one of the oldest industries is strugglin...