Impact of COVID -19 on population health and economic wellbeing in Ethiopia: A national pilot survey

Introduction: The COVD-19 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented global health and economic crisis, particu-larly in countries struggling with poverty. We conducted a national survey to understand the economic and health impacts of COVID-19 in Ethiopia. Methods: A pilot, population-based, cross-sectional survey was conducted among adults randomly selected from the Ethio Telecom list of mobile phone numbers. Participants underwent a comprehensive phone interview about the impact of COVID-19 on their economic well-being and the health-related risks associated with COVID-19. Results: Of 4,180 calls attempted, 1194 were answered, of which a successful interview was made with 614 par-ticipants. COVID-19 affected the family income of 343 [55.9%] participants, 56 [9.1%] lost their job, 105 [17.1%] perceived high stress in their household, and 7 [1.14%] reported death in their family in the past month. The odds of having a decreased income due to COVID-19 were 2.4 times higher among self-employed [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 2.4, 95% CI (1.58-3.77)] and 2.8 times higher among unemployed [AOR 2.8, 95% CI (1.35-5.85)] participants. Two-hundred twenty-one [36%] participants had comorbidity in their household with hypertension, 72 [11.7%], diabetes,50 [8.1%], asthma, 48 [7.8%], and other chronic diseases, 51 [8.4%]. Forty-six [7.5%] participants had COVID-like symptoms in the previous month, where cough, headache, and fatigue were the most com-mon.

Coverage of Vitamin A Supplementation and Role of Community Health Days as Delivery Mechanism: A Community-based Survey in Southern Ethiopia.

Objectives: To evaluate coverage of Vitamin A Supplementation (VAS) and the contribution of Community Health Days (CHD) in its distribution. Methods: A population based survey was conducted in August to December 2011. All children 6 to 59 months old (n=4258) in randomly selected households were included in this study. Caregivers were shown vitamin A capsules and asked for each child whether they had received a supplement and whether if they had participated in CHD that took place in June 2011. Results: The overall VAS coverage was 43.8%, where 88% of all VAS delivered was through CHD. Half (51%) of the eligible children did not participated in CHD hence did not received VAS. Association between VAS reception and child sex, age and nutritional status was analysed. Children who were acutely malnourished (52.3% wasted versus 43.3% normal P<0.01 and 50.0% underweight versus 41.6% normal P<0.000) were more likely to receive VAS. Conclusions: VAS coverage was low. Most of the distributed VASs were delivered at CHDs but attendance at CHD was poor. Improving coverage of CHD appears as a valuable way to improve coverage of VAS.

Why is Perinatal Mortality Higher among Women Delivered at Health Facility in Rural Northwest Ehiopia? A Qualitative Study.

This study investigated the reasons for high perinatal deaths among newborns delivered in health facilities in rural northwest Ethiopia. Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with 11 survivors of obstetric complications and 11 normal home deliveries. The interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Open code qualitative 3.6 software was used for managing data and analysis. The primary reasons attributed to high mortality among health-facility-delivered babies were delay in recognizing danger signs of labor and delay in decision to seek care. Most women arrive to health institutions late with seriously complicated labor. Lack of transport, finance, and perceived poor quality of services are additional reasons to delayed seeking of health care during labor. Increasing public education on danger signs of labour, improving quality of emergency obstetric care in the nearby health facilities, and facilitating affordable referral mechanisms are critical to enhance prompt household decisionmaking and decreasing perinatal deaths in rural communities.