A team of 40,000 community health workers led by women are being tasked by Ethiopia’s health officials to help stop the novel coronavirus from spreading in the country.
The women, many of whom helped reduce maternal mortality in the past two decades, are working on monitoring new cases, improving hygiene and spreading awareness about the disease in the vulnerable east African nation.
“The trust (these women) have built through the years will help us reach communities as early as possible,” says Temesgen Ayehu of Ethiopia’s health ministry.
The trained women are even working with religious leaders to dispel myths about the disease, in a nation where religious and traditional beliefs tend to influence people’s actions.
