By Samuel Ogenyi, Uyo
Over 521 feontline health workers in Nigeria have been trained by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on quick response to COVID-19 pandemic.
NCDC Public Health Physician and Epidemiologist Dr Everistus Aniaku made this known during a 10 day training programme for health workers on Emergency Responses Management (ERC) in Uyo on Wednesday.
Aniaku expressed confidence that the training would assist the participants in understanding and responding to emergency health situations, including COVID-19 cases.
This according to him would stregnten the capacity of health workers in handling emergency cases in the functional Emergency Operations Centre (EOCs) available in almost all the states of the federation.
“As at today in Nigeria, we have trained over 521 capacity frontline respondents and that is why we are quickly to respond to COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
“That is why NCDC today can categorically give data on daily basis, number of people that have been confirmed and number of death cases.” He said.
Aniaku said the essence of the training was basically to acqaint the participants with the fundamentals of emergency response management for any type of incident.
“It is a training that covers Incidents Management Structure which is an emergency management structure, that set a protocol that coordinates the actions of government agencies, private sector and all the key stakeholders to support the incidence management activities inline with global best practices.” He explained.
Aniaku, who also Heads, Emergency Operations Division, Department of Health Emergency Preparedness and Response explained that the training involved teaching of beneficiaries quick response to the pandemic, how to reactivate EOCs, keep incidence management structure and develope incidence documents among others.
He called on state governments to make functional budgets for emergency operations commending the Director General of NCDC for the ingenuity in the handling of the covid-19 pandemic.
In a remark on behalf of the trainees, Mrs Margaret Etim, the State Health Educator in the Ministry of Health said the training programme would strengthen health workers and help for effective response towards COVID-19 pandemic in the state.
