Posted on: Fri 21-08-2020

Anambra State branch of the Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, has ended its two-day Train the Trainers workshop aimed at tackling the novel Coronavirus pandemic and other deadly diseases in the state.

The workshop which held at Golden Tulip Agulu Lake Hotel, Agulu, attracted the Director General of Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, the Anti Microbial Resistance, AMR/Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Programme Coordinator, NCDC, Dr Tochi Okwor and the Anambra NMA Taskforce on Covid-19 led by Dr Jane Ezeonu, among others as resource persons/trainers.

Flagging off the workshop, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Vincent Okpala, revealed that in the state, “the pandemic is still with us fully, as at today five key local Government Areas with high degree of the transmission include, Awka South, Nnewi North, Idemili North, Onitsha North and South and with this it has spread all over the state”

“You should do the needful, follow the Covid-19 protocols. this is not the time to be attending weddings and funerals in large number. A team was created in each of the political wards in the state and we call them Covid-19 Ward Action team”

He went further to hint that, 25 health workers have been affected by the pandemic, two doctors, one pharmacist, two laboratory personnel, eight nurses and some others that work in hospitals. The Commissioner commended the NCDC training of the trainers adding that, “the healthcare worker is going to learn more on how to stop the spread of infections.

“Training of trainers will help decrease the number of infections and increase the confidence of healthcare trainers and the State NMA chairman, Dr Jide Onyekwelu, needs a lot of commendations because of this training”

In his own contribution, the NCDC Director General, expressed optimism that the lessons drawn from the scourge would further strengthen the healthcare system of the country.

The Director General who was ably represented by the Programme Coordinator, Anti Microbial Resistance/Infection, Prevention and Control, Dr. Tochi Okwor at the Infection, Prevention and Control (IPC) Project which was sponsored by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), expressed optimism that after the workshop, those trained would impact positively on the society what they learnt.

Lamenting the number of casualties recorded among doctors and other health workers in the state, the NCDC boss maintained that the commitment of the entire citizenry in tackling the pandemic was of great importance in the fight.

“It’s unfortunate and heart breaking the infections that occurred among health workers and the number of doctors who have died”.

“The question is, are we going to live with the pandemic as weak people who don’t have what it takes to deal with it or live with it in a way that keeps the virus very uncomfortable and force it away from us? I do believe we have what it takes to deal with it”.” More importantly, as trainers, we’ll begin to galvanize other health workers to do more to ensure we work safer and come out less damaged as well as ensure that the lessons we learnt from the pandemic will strengthen our health system.”

Doctor Jide Onyekwelu, the state NMA chairman, had in his opening address, commended the State commissioner, Dr Okpala, for his assistance towards the welfare of doctors in the state and the health sector includinh the NCDC DG, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, who was represented by Dr Tochi Okwor, for training the trainers and his vice, Dr Jane Ezeonu, He hinted that the training became necessary in view of the disturbing statistics of high infectious rates among frontline health workers, stating that 25 doctors from the five NMA zones in the state underwent the training exercise to train no fewer than 125 doctors across the

state.

“The mission of NMA is to build a sustainable Professional association that will advance the delivery of qualitative healthcare services through continuing professional development, advocacy, knowledge management and public education in collaboration with other strategic partners,” he added.

He expressed optimism that the trainees would have at the end of the day understood the basics of Covid-19 disease, epidemiology, and transmission. “They would have imbibed standard practice of IPC, with particular respect to Covid-19.

Source: independent

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