Through the Social Promotion humanitarian project, financed by the Nando and Elsa Peretti Foundation, the S. Gabriel Catholic Health Center in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) has been strengthened in order to contain and prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the Akaki-Kaliti district.
Thanks to the training of S. Gabriel personnel in the control, diagnosis and management of diseases identified as COVID-19 cases, the provision of adequate equipment for staff and vulnerable patients, and the implementation of awareness campaigns on this disease, this objective has been achieved.
Specifically, the following activities have been implemented with the following achievements:
- Two professionals from the Ministry of Health have trained 66 S. Gabriel staff members to improve COVID-19 infection prevention and control in a two-day session during the month of December 2020. Following this training, the managers of each department have been conducting regular follow-up activities and the public health department has been regularly monitoring the proper and consistent use of personal protective equipment (PPE) by staff.
- PPE for healthcare personnel and vulnerable patients has been purchased and distributed. By the end of August 2020, 70 protective gowns, an infrared thermometer, 5,000 pairs of surgical gloves, antiseptic soap (solid: 1,820 tablets; liquid: 2,500 liters), 450 liters of 96% alcohol, 11,000 surgical masks and another 280 N-95s were purchased.
- 14,857 health center patients have received daily education on COVID-19 prevention and control measures (washing and social distance). Among them, 13,760 adult and under-5 patients were evaluated for possible COVID-19 infection based on the signs and symptoms they revealed during the medical examination period. Finally, 148 who tested positive after undergoing PCR testing were isolated and referred to the treatment center.
- Six awareness campaigns have been carried out around the center. Several health workers from the S. Gabriel health center made visits to schools, churches and also to private homes during the vaccination campaign, explaining and handing out information material on COVID-19 in the local language. In total, basic information on this disease has been provided to 15,195 households – approximately 60,790 people – and 2,500 children and teachers from two schools
After the measures adopted, the results and achievements of the project have been meritorious, considering the high transmission capacity of the virus, since only two health workers contracted the disease during the execution of the project and the spread of the virus in the hospital was prevented, making it possible to continue with medical care to other vulnerable patients and to isolate and refer possible infected patients to other specialized centers.
