The pandemic taught us to be appreciative of healthcare professionals

The current events have beaten people up in different ways but at the end of every tunnel is a light that allows us to rethink any situation. Months of traversing through the pandemic have shown us several lessons along the way.

If COVID-19 has taught has anything, it’s that health plays a major role in our life. Along with this is the realization that we should be more appreciative of those who help us maintain our health – the frontliners and healthcare professionals.

Frontliners like doctors, nurses, medical technicians and more – are most at risk of infection since they are exposed to those who are infected. This obviously means that the greatest protection from infection must be accorded these professionals.

So how can we show our appreciation for these healthcare professionals around the world?

By advocating for better work conditions, compensation and protection. These health professionals are willingly and selflessly working long hours to the point of exhaustion – often not being able to see their families for long periods because of the danger of infecting them. We must also protect them so they can protect us.

Meanwhile, the outbreak has exposed the current vulnerability of the healthcare system to to pandemics. Once we are over this one, we should rethink how we can improve our systems to better serve everyone. Although frontliners are well compensated and looked after in countries like Bahrain, other countries are not providing the same protection to their healthcare professionals.

It is the responsibility of each government to protect its citizens. This includes effective contingency planning for pandemics and better healthcare system for everyone. Adequate planning for crises like the COVID-19 pandemic should not be optional, but rather a must in this unpredictable world.

Access to healthcare, which in some countries was already unsatisfactory before COVID-19, has also become a new crisis. Countries must spend modestly not only to prepare for the pandemic but also to make sure that each individual has access to it during the pandemic and beyond.

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