Conflict, community, and COVID-19: response and implications in Ethiopia

Martin Plymoth; Yidnekachew G. Mogessie; Israa Mohammed; Dawit Mengesha; Mandy Wang; Shuaibu Saidu Musa; Bezawit Kassahun Bekele; Heaven Yeshaneh Tatere; Mohamed Babiker Musa; Don Eliseo Lucero-Prisno, III

doi:10.4081/jphia.2022.1957

Authors

Martin Plymoth
martin.plymoth@gmail.com
Westmead hospital, Sydney, Australia. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2036-0383
Yidnekachew G. Mogessie St. Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, MD, United States.
Israa Mohammed London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8582-345X
Dawit Mengesha Faculty of Medicine, Saint Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2075-7524
Mandy Wang Department of Women's and Newborn Health, Westmead Hospital, New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6509-6926
Shuaibu Saidu Musa Department of Nursing Science, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Nigeria. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0138-3261
Bezawit Kassahun Bekele Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2926-235X
Heaven Yeshaneh Tatere Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.
Mohamed Babiker Musa Faculty of Pharmacy, Omdurman Islamic University, Khartoum, Sudan. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7321-8807
Don Eliseo Lucero-Prisno, III Department of Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK; Development Studies, University of the Philippines (Open University), Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines.

Community transmission of COVID-19 is currently on the rise in Ethiopia, while availability of diagnostic and treatment services remains limited. Impaired access to essential services is affected by the pandemic’s strain on the health system, and as a consequence of the country’s public health response. The ongoing conflict in the Tigray Region provides another obstacle to accessing and providing care for the local population; and has displaced large numbers of people both within and outside the country. In this commentary we discuss the impact of the conflict on essential services and argue that a coordinated holistic response is essential to mitigate both short and long-term consequences of the conflict, including increased COVID-19 transmission, acute malnutrition, disruption of education services, displacement of people, and food insecurities. We highlight the important role of community engagement in prevention and early detection of these challenges, and the need for comprehensive interventions in the region.

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Plymoth, M., Mogessie, Y. G., Mohammed, I., Mengesha, D., Wang, M., Musa, S. S., Bekele, B. K., Tatere, H. Y., Musa, M. B., & Lucero-Prisno, III, D. E. (2022). Conflict, community, and COVID-19: response and implications in Ethiopia. Journal of Public Health in Africa, 13(3). https://doi.org/10.4081/jphia.2022.1957

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Copyright (c) 2022 Martin Plymoth, Yidnekachew G. Mogessie, Israa Mohammed, Dawit Mengesha, Mandy Wang, Shuaibu Saidu Musa, Bezawit Kassahun Bekele, Heaven Yeshaneh Tatere, Mohamed Babiker Musa, Don Eliseo Lucero-Prisno, III