Pandemic prevention training in the ECOWAS region

Posted on 4 Dec, 2019 by Philippe Borremans

The regional BMZ-funded and EU co-funded program Support to Pandemic Prevention in the ECOWAS Region (RPPP) implemented by GIZ aims to strengthen human resources in the ECOWAS region to prevent and manage future disease outbreaks. GFA was contracted for the elaboration and introduction of both learning opportunities and digital solutions to assist this goal.

Coordination and communication between institutions and stakeholders have proven to be key during the 2014/2015 Ebola outbreak. Therefore, GFA, together with the West African Health Organization (WAHO) in Burkina Faso, the Regional Center for Surveillance and Disease Control (RCSDC) in Nigeria and the Institut Régional de Santé Publique in Benin, have developed two training packages: inter-institutional communication & coordination and risk communication.Besides the two thematic areas, the organisation of simulation exercises were offered for professionals with the mandate to organise these exercises in the region.

The training packages were delivered in a combination of online and presence-based sessions (blended learning) at the regional level in June and September 2019. Health professionals working both at regional and national level in the ECOWAS region participated whilst a training of trainers approach was applied to ensure that the courses are replicated in the future. The subsequent national trainings were then organised in the focus countries of the RPPP – namely in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea - in November and December 2019. The Institut Régional de Santé Publique will continue offering these e-learning courses on inter-institutional communication & coordination and risk communication.

> Short information about the project