In a busy intensive care unit in Eka Kotebe General Hospital, Addis Ababa, Dr Samuel Getnet, 28, a newly-recruited young and energetic physician anxiously monitors the mechanical ventilators, an indispensable form of life support for COVID-19 patients with respiratory distress.
“I never thought my professional journey would bring me to the place where I'm today—at the center of COVID-19 pandemic management team—treating and caring for the most severely ill patients who critically need my support and care. Despite the challenges and risks, I am grateful for the opportunity to serve my people at this critical time,” he said.
Dr Getnet is a general practitioner who came on board as part of the surge capacity planning for human resources announced by the Ethiopian Ministry of Health in February 2020. Before starting his duty in the intensive care unit, he received in-person training from the World Health Organization (WHO), with practical sessions taking place in the hospital. The topics he covered include case management, use of personal protective equipment (PPE), infection prevention and control (IPC), and the application and use of mechanical ventilation. He also benefited from online WHO resources such as Open WHO.org.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, WHO, through the UHC Partnership, has been supporting the Government and Ministry of Health to increase the number of health workers and improve their skills in order to provide emergency care for COVID-19 patients, prevent new infections and maintain essential health services. This work builds on the existing Ethiopian health workforce extension programme, the community health programme and other strategic investments already made to strengthen the health system.
More health care workers are needed for the national response
Ethiopia is one of the 57 countries in the world with a chronic shortage of health workers. To help urgently address this, WHO’s support has been largely focused on helping the Human Resources for Health Directorate of the Ministry of Health and the Ethiopian Public Health Institution to forecast needs, map, recruit, train and deploy health workers in response to the pandemic.
WHO initially provided support in estimating the health workforce necessary for acute and intensive care over the course of the pandemic. Using results from a simulation tool, the Government then made plans to recruit 45,000 health care providers of different professional categories in addition to the 104,506 health professionals currently working in the health system.
No health without health workers
WHO has been working closely with the Ministry of Health and the Regional Health Bureau to ensure availability and access to health workers not only for COVID-19 related care but also the maintenance of essential health services.
Following the initial cases of COVID-19, there was a drop in the utilization of essential health services. To provide practical guidance to reorganize and safely maintain access to quality, essential health services at national, regional and local levels, WHO assisted the Ministry of Health to develop and roll-out its Implementation Guide for non-COVID-19 essential health services in Ethiopia. This was done with support from the UHC Partnership, one of WHO’s largest initiatives for universal health coverage (UHC). The Partnership works in 115 countries to help governments accelerate progress towards UHC through funding from the European Union (EU), the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Irish Aid, the Government of Japan, the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, the United Kingdom - Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and Belgium.
To boost the motivation of health workers and improve their working environment, the Ministry of Health has put in place other measures for which WHO has provided technical support. These include a life and health insurance scheme, preparation of a special allowance for health workers, extra funding to high-load hospitals, guidelines and protocols for isolation, quarantine and treatment of health workers.
WHO has been supporting frontline health workers to increase their capacity to respond rapidly and efficiently to COVID-19 while also protecting their own health. This includes technical support for updating IPC measures including water and sanitation guidelines, a risk assessments checklist and guidance for detention centres and sporting events.
The COVID-19 crisis sends a strong message that resilient health systems can only be achieved with a strong health workforce. Protecting everyone requires urgently addressing health worker shortages, investing in their capacity building and ensuring that their work environments enable them to serve in the best way they can.
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