Addis Ababa: The National Rehabilitation Commission and Ministry of Health have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that enables them to provide multifaceted health services for ex-combatants.
Health State Minister Dr. Ayele Teshome and National Rehabilitation Commissioner Temesgen Tilahun signed the agreement at a training manual validation workshop held today.
The agreement is aimed at making the ex-combatants productive member of the society by providing multifaceted health and related supports, it was learned.
Speaking on the occasion, the state minister said that the challenges combatants encounter during conflicts are multidimensional and demand strong collaboration of all stakeholders.
Various activities, including identifying ex-combatants, their temporal and chronic health problems and psychological and mental related problems will be carried out to address health related problems of the ex-combatants, he added.
According to him, the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the National
Rehabilitation Commission and other stakeholders, is keen to provide health services for the ex-combatants.
National Rehabilitation Commissioner Temesgen Tilahun stated on his part that health is one of the vital and the primary issues that the commission gives attention to in the rehabilitation and reintegration of the ex-combatants.
Temesgen affirmed that the commission will work closely with the ministry to address all types of health related problems of the ex-combatants.
The commissioner disclosed that the implementation of the agreement will commence as soon as possible as discussions have been carried out during the last one year regarding ways about how to collaborate with the ministry.
At the workshop, the two sides also endorsed a training manual that contains various issues, including psycho-social, health and self-care, among others.
Source: Ethiopian News Agency