Impacts of COVID-19 on essential health services in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia: A pre-post study

Abstract

Despite commendable achievements in maintaining several of the essential health services, COVID-19 has led to an increase in under nutrition in under five children, decline in HIV detection and care, CVD, cervical cancer screening and blood bank services. Therefore, governments, local and international agencies need to introduce innovative ways to rapidly expand and deliver services in the context of COVID-19. Moreover, lower income countries have to customize comprehensive and coordinated community-based health care approaches, including outreach and campaigns. In addition, countries should ensure that NCDs are incorporated in their national COVID-19 response plans to provide essential health care services to people living with NCDs and HIV or HIV-TB co-infection during the COVID-19 pandemic period.