COVID-19 effects on essential healthcare services in Addis Ababa

Worldwide, the overwhelming demands of the COVID-19 pandemic have challenged health systems.

In Ethiopia, maintaining essential health services during the COVID-19 pandemic is critical to preventing severe outcomes and protecting the gains made over the past years in the health sector.

Thus, this study explored the health system’s response to maintaining essential healthcare services in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The researchers were affiliated with Addis Ababa University, Haramaya University, the Ethiopian Public Health Institute, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, the University of Liverpool and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI).

They interviewed 60 key informants by purposively selecting key stakeholders from the Federal Ministry of Health, Addis Ababa Regional Health Bureau, Sub-city Health Offices, and frontline healthcare providers.

They then transcribed the interviews verbatim and coded them by Open Code. The resulting data were analyzed by theme.

Analysis of the findings revealed that COVID-19 affected the delivery of essential health services in several ways.

These included decline in use of health service, fear of infection among healthcare providers, stigma towards healthcare providers, and perceived decrease in quality of healthcare services.

Service delivery changes

However, the health system actors made efforts to sustain services while responding to the pandemic by enacting changes in the service delivery modality.

Notably, the most significant service delivery changes included repurposing health centres and prolonged prescriptions (multi-month medication dispensing).

The primary challenges encountered were burnout of the health workforce and a shortage of personal protective equipment.

In conclusion, COVID-19 affected the delivery of essential health services in Addis Ababa in many ways.

Thus, system actors have made efforts to sustain services while responding to the pandemic.

Citation
Fenta, E.H., Tassew, B., Abera, A., Wolde, F.B., Legesse, M., Pulford, J., Mor, S. and Kaba, M. 2024. Maintaining essential healthcare services in Addis Ababa during COVID-19: A qualitative study. PLOS ONE 19(12): e0308534.

Photo: A 3D print of a SARS-CoV-2 virus particle, which causes COVID-19 (National Institutes of Health)