Ethiopia buys life insurance for health workers

Healthcare professionals that are in the forefront of the fight against COVID-19 will be provided with life insurance by Ethiopian Insurance Corporation.
The government has reached an agreement with the Ethiopian Insurance Corporation to buy life insurance for health professionals that are in direct contact with Covid-19 patients.
“The insurance company disclosed the agreement by their own initiative,” said Lia Tadesse Minister of Health. According to the Minister, the life insurance grant is aimed at encouraging health experts who are the most vulnerable to the deadly corona virus.
Certain works are in the making to disclose the value of the cover including registering health workers all over the country that are directly in contact with the Covid 19 cases.
According to Lia, the insurance grant will also include members of the Rapid Response Team. “At a time of emergency the team may got accidents, and the insurance grant include to provide this insurance,” Lia added.
The two sides are expected to sign an agreement in few days to make the insurance grant legal.
As Covid-19 cases continue to rise in Ethiopia, several doctors, nurses and other health workers in emergency rooms remain at high risk. The ministry has said that the government is working to provide incentive package for health workers.
“There are two selected hospitals fully accommodated with materials to give treatment for health workers,” Lia said.
The Ministry of Health is also preparing temporary residential houses for health workers.
“Health workers are at the front line of the COVID-19 outbreak response and as such are exposed to hazards that put them at risk of infection. Hazards include pathogen exposure, long working hours, psychological distress, fatigue, occupational burnout, stigma, and physical and psychological violence,” says the World Health Organization (WHO).
The organization has a guideline set of rights of health workers, including the specific measures needed to protect occupational safety and health, Necessary preventive and protective measures should be taken to minimize risks.
Such rights include, provide adequate personal protective equipment, IPC and PPE supplies including masks, gloves, goggles, gowns, hand sanitizer, soap and water, cleaning supplies in sufficient quantity to those caring for suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients, such that workers do not incur expenses for occupational safety.
The pandemic virus Covid-19 is surprising the world with its high spread. The increasing number of confirmed cases from day to day is running high and it is taking lives of hundreds of thousands each day.
Due to the spread of virus in the world medical workers are more strained than ever.
Hence the country has lack of sufficient health professionals the government called on retired and intern health workers to register and join the national movement to mitigate the spread of the virus. According to Lia, more than 16,000 health workers has already registered so far and 693 has been employed by the federal government and more than 3000 by regional governments.