The Post-Ebola Recovery Social Investment Fund (PERSIF) Project has benefitted two hundred and twenty (220) Healthcare Workers across fifteen (15) communities in the nine (9) beneficiary districts of the Project through training in Infection, Prevention and Control (IPC). IPC practice is a key component in the preparedness and response strategies of disease outbreaks. The purpose of this drive was to enhance the capacity and knowledge of healthcare workers particularly in rural communities in the discipline and practice of IPC to enable them achieve the highest level of effectiveness in preparedness and response to epidemic outbreaks, as well as building their capacity to disseminate important information on IPC practices. Consistent with the development objective of the PERSIF Project, the overall objective of the IPC training was to contribute towards building a robust and resilient national health system with the capacity to withstand any potential recurrence of EVD and related outbreaks in the future.
The Project largely targeted communities that were severely affected by the Ebola epidemic. These include: Western Area Urban (Freetown) and Western Area Rural (Waterloo and Environs), Port Loko, Bombali, Falaba, Kailahun, Kenema, Kono and Kambia. The initiative was spearheaded by the Project Coordinating Unit (PCU) of the PERSIF Project alongside the Ministry of Social Welfare and the oversight of the Mano River Union.
The training was facilitated by professionals in the National IPC Unit and the Directorate of Health Security and Emergencies of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation. It was sequentially organized in four different locations with three (3) days in each location from April 20 to May 3, 2021.
The first training was held at the Waterloo District Council Hall for participants from Western Area Urban and Western Area Rural. The second training was held at the Kambia District Council Hall, for participants from Port Loko and Kambia districts. The third training held in Koidu New Sembehun City Council Hall was for participants from Kono, Bombali and Falaba districts. The Kailahun District Council Hall hosted the fourth training for participants from Kailahun and Kenema districts.
Giving an overview of the PERSIF Project across the different training events, Ibrahim S. Kamara, Project Coordinator of the PERSIF Project underscored the importance of the Project as a sub-regional initiative supported by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Initiative (RWSSI). He noted that the Project seeks to build resilience against future EVD outbreak in the three neighbouring countries of the Mano River Union (MRU) namely, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. He urged participants to take the training seriously as they are expected to serve as ambassadors in their respective communities for promoting IPC measures and health campaigns.
The Ministry of Health and Sanitation representative in the Project Steering Committee reminded participants of the mandate and pivotal role of the Health Ministry in healthcare delivery in the country. He reemphasized the importance of the role of healthcare workers as frontline soldiers during epidemic outbreaks and admonished them to promote the image of the Ministry by delivering quality healthcare services in their respective communities. He reminded participants about their responsibility to use IPC as a discipline to protect themselves foremost when providing services to people in their communities, and hoped that the training would serve as a refresher to further enhance their knowledge and understanding of contemporary IPC practices.
Representatives of the MRU respectively expressed delight regarding their coordinating role in ensuring the success of the PERSIF Project.
They highlighted their partnership and collaboration with the Government to ensure that the sub-region is well positioned to responding adequately to any future epidemic outbreaks. They extended the MRU Secretary-General’s appreciation in respect of progress made so far and admonished participants to take the training seriously for the benefit of Sierra Leone and the sub-region as a whole.
In preparation for the training, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation developed a comprehensive IPC training manual that was reviewed with the PERSIF Project to identify relevant topics for the training of healthcare workers and community groups in the respective districts. Following this development, relevant modules were developed and adapted to the needs of the Project by facilitators of the IPC Unit of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation. The IPC Unit was given the task of selecting the right cadre of frontline healthcare workers that normally perform IPC and related roles during disease outbreaks as participants for the training.
In order to secure the support and collaboration of relevant stakeholders in the districts, the PERSIF Project engaged the nine (9) District Councils for the participation of their respective Health Committee Chairpersons.
The training covered topics including the Overview of Standard Precaution and Transmission-based Precaution; Hand Hygiene and its Techniques; Strategies for Strengthening Triage, Screening and Isolation Capacities for Healthcare Facilities ; PPEs, its Mistakes, Donning and Doffing; Respiratory Hygiene/Cough Etiquette; Reprocessing of Re-usable Medical devices; Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs); Environmental cleaning; and Waste management.
Each of the presentations followed scenarios in which participants had the opportunity to respond and ask meaningful questions, share relevant experience and grasp knowledge of discussions related to the training topics.
The three (3) day training was accompanied with simulation exercises on the third day as prelude to the deployment of selected trained health workers, based on their performance, in communities for cascading training of Community Groups in IPC awareness and health promotion campaigns. The training also consisted of pre-and post-knowledge assessment of participants on IPC. The results for the pre and post knowledge assessment saw Kenema and Kailahun scoring the highest marks. The result showed that the training made an impact in the overall performance of the healthcare workers.
