Poland in Ethiopia

The team that arrived in the framework of the WHO Emergency Teams Initiative, at the invitation of the Ministry of Health of Ethiopia came on September 22 and will stay until October 18, currently supporting the operations of the Millennium COVID Care Centre.
Speaking at the conference, Hilina Tadesse, Chief of Staff, Director General of Medical Services General Directorate, Ministry of Health of Ethiopia expressed appreciation for the cooperation between the PCPM team and the Millennium COVID Care Centre.

"That place is the largest such center in the country with 1000 bed capacity. Running it poses challenges for design, flow management, staff capacity development, infection prevention management and delivery of care - said Dr Ishmael Shemsedin, Executive Director of Millennium COVID Care Centre. “So far we have provided service for more than 3000 patients. In our effort to provide high quality care, inadequate experience in critical care and emergency response management has been rate limiting,” he added.
“This is the sixth mission of Polish Emergency Medical Team PCPM in response to COVID-19 pandemics,” says Wojtek Wilk (PhD), leader of the Team. “We are happy to share with our Ethiopian colleagues not only the experience from the Polish hospitals, but also that acquired by our EMT during recent missions to other countries. Our EMT will be also supported by a doctor and a nurse from Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet, which will add one more country experience to share.

“The project showed once again how much the Government of Poland was dedicated to support countries around the world in dealing with the pandemic. These days, international solidarity is especially needed,” said Przemyslaw Bobak, Ambassador of Poland to Ethiopia.

The press conference was widely covered by the local media.