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NCDC Weekly Epidemiological Report: Issue: Volume 11 No.25: 15th – 21st June 2020

Pays
Nigéria
Sources
Govt. Nigeria
Date de publication
Origine
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COVID-19: NCDC Launches Online Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Training Course

The role of healthcare workers (HCWs) in the delivery of public health and clinical services since the beginning of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic cannot be over-emphasised. As at 5th July 2020, a total of 1540 HCWs have been infected in Nigeria. This is in the same vein as hundreds of thousands of HCWs that have been infected across the world.

Given the high susceptibility of HCWs to this virus, the safety of health workers has been at the forefront of Nigeria’s response strategy to COVID-19. NCDC has continued to train the critical mass of its health workforce across the country on the principles of Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) for COVID-19. In addition to this, NCDC has ensured country-wide distribution of necessary personal protective equipment (PPEs) and other medical consumables to health facilities in all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory to ensure the safety of HCWs and the public at large.

To date, NCDC has supported the training of over 17,000 health workers in IPC and has established a network of IPC focal persons/experts nationwide. Furthermore, we have been deploying IPC experts as parts of our rapid response teams (RRTs), to support states’ response activities and strengthen the IPC capacity of state healthcare workers. These efforts have aided in the reduction of recently reported number of HCWs infection.

Despite the constraints of COVID-19, the NCDC continues to find innovative ways to ensure HCWs, at all levels, have seamless access to IPC training thereby bridging knowledge gaps and ultimately reducing COVID-19 related infection and death in health workers. In line with this, NCDC has launched an online training course on Infection Prevention and Control for COVID-19 targeted at HCWs but available to the public as well.

The training curriculum incorporates existing national IPC tools in line with global best practices. Some of the course modules include:

  1. Transmission of COVID-19

  2. Understanding and breaking the chain of infection

  3. Screening and triaging for COVID-19: screen, identify and notify

  4. Standard precautions: hand hygiene practice and use of PPEs

  5. Transmission based precautions

  6. Environmental cleaning including waste management

  7. Setting up an IPC programme at a health facility etc.

The NCDC is committed to building the capacity and resilience of all HCWs in IPC measures vis a vis epidemic preparedness and response. We urge HCWs at all levels (public and private) and members of the public to make good use of this unique opportunity by enrolling for this course which can be accessed here. Enrolment is free and certificate of participation is automatically issued on successful completion of the course.

Summary of Incidents

  1. Information for this disease was retrieved from the Technical Working Group and Situation Reports

  2. Case Fatality Rate (CFR) for this disease is reported for confirmed cases only

  3. Information for this disease was retrieved from IDSR 002 data

  4. CFR for this disease is reported for total cases i.e. suspected + confirmed

  5. Information for sentinel influenza was retrieved from the laboratory