Over 100 health workers died in Libya after the floods last month, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
They are part of the 4,000 people who have been officially declared dead until now. Additionally, over 8,500 people are still not found.
The deaths of these 101 doctors, nurses, and paramedics affects not just their families and loved ones, but also the whole community. The health sector in eastern Libya and beyond will face a significant impact. This was stated by Dr Ahmed Zouiten, WHO Representative in Libya, as a tribute to the health workers.
The disaster occurred when two dams, which were not well taken care of during years of conflict, broke because of heavy rainfall from Storm Daniel.
Whole neighborhoods vanished underwater when the water reached eastern Libya, especially the city of Derna, which was heavily affected.
Tag: healthcare professionals
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Over 100 healthcare professionals dead due to floods in Libya – WHO
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COVID-19 fight: 58,000 healthcare professionals were hired – Akufo-Addo
In order to strengthen its effort to combat COVID-19 at the height of the pandemic, President Akufo-Addo has revealed that his administration hired an additional 58,000 healthcare providers.
Speaking at the Accra International Conference Center’s National Honours and Awards ceremony, the president noted that as part of the government’s commitment to guaranteeing residents’ safety, it had to make certain challenging but essential decisions, such as hiring medical personnel.
“Our priority then was the health and safety of Ghanaians and that is why we put in place a comprehensive strategy in place to deal with the virus which incidences were unknown, and we were restrained from shaking hands and hugging each other, and we had to endure stress caused by the poking of our noses and throats anytime we underwent a PCR swap.”Delivering the keynote address before presenting the awards, the president added that “the government also found the money to recruit, on a permanent basis, 58,041 more health professionals. COVID-19 inspired our domestic manufacturing capabilities and deepened our self-reliance. The pharmaceutical industry under my instigation responded positively to the need for the domestic production of sanitisers, disinfectants, and liquid soaps.”
The president also disclosed that his government procured GH¢81 million worth of personal protective equipment from local manufacturers to ensure the safety of Ghanaians.
“Furthermore, Ghana was able to procure some GH¢81 million worth of personal protective equipment such as face masks, garments, medical scrubs, and hospital gowns from domestic garment and textile manufacturing companies for health workers and students who wrote their final exams during the period.”
“Our relative success in winning the fight against COVID-19 is a testament to the tireless work of our researchers, scientists, advisors, public health managers, frontline healthcare workers, hospital staff, contact tracers, security services, public and private sector agencies, faith-based organizations, and so many others,” the president added.
Among the persons honoured by the state, the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, was conferred with the Order of the Volta-Companion.