Responsiveness to COVID-19 pandemic and its Immediate Impacts on Essential RMNCH Services in Addis Ababa: Findings of a Rapid Assessment

Since its emergence in December 2019 the threat of coronavirus disease (SARS-Cov-2 or COVID-19) has inundated and threatened health systems worldwide. In Ethiopia, there are 5,000 cases and 75 deaths respectively over four months period (March-June 2020)1. Addis Ababa city has constituted more than two-thirds of the total cases. The Last Ten Kilometers Project (L10K), led by JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. (JSI) and funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), has been supporting the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Addis Ababa City Health Bureau (AACHB) to address impacts of the pandemic on the health system and mitigate its effect on essential reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health (RMNCH) services. L10K, in collaboration with the International Institute for Primary Health Care in Ethiopia (IIfPHC), conducted a rapid assessment to understand the immediate effects of COVID-19 on the continuity of essential RMNCH services in Addis Ababa city.

The assessment’s objectives were to

1. Determine the immediate impacts of the pandemic on the use of routine RMNCH service;
2. Explore practices of preventive measures and readiness and responsiveness of the health system and health facilities to COVID-19; and
3. Explore the barriers to or facilitators of sustaining routine RMNCH services.