Vulnerabilities of Health Workers

Dr. Olive Kobusingye, Consultant Trauma Surgeon and Senior Research Fellow, MUSPH, joins us in this episode as we look at Uganda’s healthcare workforce and how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected them. One of the most important points that she highlights is that this workforce is a broad community (beyond the doctors and nurses that are our most common point of contact). And this broad community of individuals, who engage in a plethora of tasks and duties, are at a high risk of exposure to the COVID-19 virus. In a healthcare system where we are already struggling with the basics, protecting health workers during this pandemic is one of many issues regarding their working conditions, that needs to be addressed. Beyond COVID-19, the new normal should include investment in bettering our healthcare system.