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STRATEGIES FOR THE MITIGATION OF THE IMPACT OF THE COVID-19 ON

THE DWELLERS OF BALE ZONE

1. Tailoring the messages to the local context to build up the community awareness
about the disease

The daily lives of the Ethiopian community in general, specifically the residents of both the
urban and rural dwellers of Bale zone are interdependent. As a community, we are not
fortuned still to obtain unlimited access to the internet and public information campaigns. The
messaging that is delivered from the centre are often not tailored or suited to the local
circumstances (e.g. limited access to water, electricity, health care and supplies) and
considerations to culture, health literacy, and language preferences can present barriers to
adoption of public health advice.

Strategies to consider:

Identify communities where tailored communication strategies are required given the local
circumstances. Importantly, approaching the community through both the formal
(government structures) and the informal community establishments (Religious, Idir, Qerroo,
sports groups…etc). Tailored strategies could be:

 Approaching the government structure to support the already planned activities.

Establishing good links and understanding with this body will facilitate to the
goals of our missions by overcoming the bureaucracy and could also ease to
obtain supports from their side like Cars and using the public health facility
structures to achieve what we sought.
 Recruiting health professionals who are familiar or trusted by the community
 Identifying the already existing social establishment like Idir or Merdaja
Mehaber.
 Identifying and approaching elders, spiritual leaders, educators, and community
leaders/organizations
 Identifying the Qerroo establishment and reaching out to their leaders.
 Working with neighbouring communities to obtain necessary information,
posters, door-to-door messaging, and community meetings.

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 Developing and communicating campaigns that are specifically tailored to the

circumstances of the communities of Bale zone.

2. Transmission of virus in public gatherings

The virus spread during public gatherings. Although there are many gathering, we do practice
in our ways of life, the rural communities are ought to come, of course, to the weekly market
to buy necessities. These markets are mostly once per week and they are large and crowded.
Therefore, this might undue strain on the strategies to mitigate this disease. It is one area
where we need to come up with innovative market design ideas that our farmers can still get
their necessities.

Strategies to consider:

 The communities should be advised and frankly instructed about the presence of
illness in the community. We have to signify the difficulty of the diseases and that we
do not have facilities, sufficient health care providers, basic medical supplies,
medications, isolation beds/rooms to assist to overcome this pandemic as a country.
So, prevention as a means of mitigation should be amplified to be told to the public in
a loud and clear way.
 Anticipate that higher transmissibility will heighten public concern and increase
demand for information from the public and media. Work to get a radio coverage
especially working with Bale zone radio for education.
 Designing a market place in a wider space area than the current market to pursue the
idea of physical distancing or a possible option could also be to moblize the merchants
and business owners to be able to run a daily market.

3. Lack of availability of non-medical supplies

Knowing the daily life of our communities, even access to basis non-medical supplies (e.g.
soap, food, household items, and facemask ) could be challenging due to poverty, know-how,
the availability of those items or inattention to not taking the disease seriously.

Strategies to consider:

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 Encourage and increase awareness of individuals, families and communities to (where

feasible considering economic resources and storage space) have a backup of supplies
to maintain their needs (e.g. soap, household cleaning products, non-perishable food
and fluids, tissues).
 Mobilizing resources through different means. We need to get a bank account
monitored by at least four people currently living in Ethiopia. The account can be set
to be only mobilized by four of them at a time.
 Reaching business owners and government organization like Medewelabu University
to seek support either in cash or kind. The university could be one good opportunity
for getting vehicles if we mobilize health professional in the community.
 Reaching all the Bale zone graduates we all personally have in our contacts.
Especially we should reach to health professionals from Bale, and living there. We
would use them as a means to deliver what we want to achieve.

4. Individuals at increased risk for severe illness, including older adults and persons of
any age with underlying health conditions.

Strategies to consider:

 These groups are highly vulnerable to the disease. It is, therefore, required to mobilize
a special resource and expertise to reach them on a personal level. This strategy would
emphasize on the individual responsible for implementing the recommended
personal-level actions .

 Focusing on settings that provide critical infrastructure or services to individuals at

increased risk of severe illness .

 Minimizing disruptions to daily life to the extent possible.

healthcare delivery in the Community During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak

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1,Hubannoo kennuu(community awareness

-Kallattiin ummata qaamaan qunamuun(sagale gudiftuu fayyadamuun)

-Miidiyaalee naanawa sanitti dhagahaman fayyadamuun

-maneen amantii fayyadamuun

-Maxansa (Publication ) garaa garaa kaneen akka poostarii,banner fi flyer fayyadamuun

NB. Magalarra magalatti, idoo iddotti haalli jireenyas tae hubannoon hawaasa(level of
understanding )waan gargar taeef qabiyyeen isaa ogeyyota fayyaan haala jiru irratti hundaa'ee
kan murtaahu ta'a

2, Meeshalee hawaasni of -eeggannoof itt fayyadamu kaneen akka saamuna, sanitizer

,hagguggii fuulaa(face mask) namoota argachuu hin dandenyeef hiruu akkasumas haala itti
salphatti hawaasni wantoota naanoo isaatti argaman fayyadamuun oomishu barumsa kennuu.
Kaneen aragchuu dandaniif ammoo haal itti fayyadama isaa hubannoo kennuu

3,Dargagoota naannoo fayyadmudhaan mangudoota fi Namoota dhukuboota biroo qaban kan

COVID-19 qabamuuf high risk kessatti ramadaman adda baasuufi haala isaan itti sosochii
hirdhisan gochuu fi yaala barbachisa sababa dhukubichaa akka hin dhabne gochuufi wantoota
jiruu guyya guyyaatiif barbaachisan haala jireenyaa isanii irrattibhunda'uun gargaarsa
barbachisu gochuu. Kunis hospitaalotaafi kelaale fayya naanawa isanitti argaman wajjiin
qindahuun kan rawwatamu ta'a.

Kunis :

-yaala manaa manaatti godhamu (home care)

-Wantoota barbaachisoo kaneen akka nyaataa,qorichaafi gorsa manatti gessuu(home

delivery )

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-Yoo haali mijataan jiraate dursa namoota kaneen gochuun qorannoo vaayirasii kooronaa ykn
qorannoo mallattoolee gurguddoo vaayirasichaa mana manatti gochuun haala itti tarkaanfiin
barbaachisaan fudhatamu qaamota dhimmi ilaalatu wajjiin ta'uun haal mijessuu

- daaiman,fi dubartoonni ulfaa yeroo kanatti gaaga'mni yaalaa akka irra hin geenyeef garee
tokko kan geejiba akkasumas haala yeroodhaan yaala barbachisu argatanii gara iddoo
jireenya isaniitti deebi'an haala mijessu ijaruu

4, Hospitaalota ykn keellaa fayyaa namoota COVID-19 shakkaman ykn qabaachuun

mirkanahe itti adda bahan(quarantine center ) qophessuu, yoo qophaahe qaama motumma
wajjiin wal ta'uun meshaale of -eegganoof fayyadan(personal protective equipment PPE)
qarqarsanis tae bittaan ogeyyi fayyaaf qophessuu akksuma qorichoota yaalli kenamuun
kenamu fi qarqaarsi (supportive therapy) ittiin kenamu hospitalotaaf guutuun ready ta'anii
eeguu.

-ogeyyii fayyaaf kessattu kaneen cenetrota quarantine kessa hojatan haala geejibaa, nyaataa fi
wantoota basic ta'an itti argatan mootummaa naannoo wajjiin tauun qophessuu.

-Xin-sammuu ogeyyi fayyaa ummanii akka eegufi kabaja isaniin malu akka kennuuf
hubanna kennuu

5, dargagoota fi jirattota gurmessuun gumaacha dhiiga(blood donation)akka godhan

gochuu ,akka biyyatti hirdhina dhiigattiin namoonni lubbuun darbaa jiru heddumaataa waan
jiruuf.....................