The Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has introduced an online course on Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) to support its fight against the Coronavirus and other infectious diseases.
The course is aimed at lowering the spread of the virus among the general public with a focus on the health care workers in Nigeria.
There has been a surge in the number of cases in the country with the NCDC reporting an alarming total of 29,286 as of July 6, 2020. About 812 health workers were reported to have been infected as of June 2, 2020.
According to the NCDC, the government in its fight against COVID-19 has employed different forms of national strategy in the absence of a vaccine or cure for the virus, while it says compliance with IPC measures remains one of the most effective interventions to control the ongoing outbreak.
The NCDC had also wasted no time in boosting the capacity of frontline healthcare workers in infection prevention and control wherever health care is provided. Part of the centre’s efforts since the first case was recorded in Nigeria in February was to support the training of 17,436 health workers in IPC and works in collaboration with the Departments of Hospital Services and Food and Drugs of the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH), to ensure that health workers are provided with the required personal protective equipment (PPE) to reduce the risk of health workers’ infection.
The Infection Prevention and Control Unit of the NCDC, with technical assistance from eHealth Africa developed the COVID-19 IPC online course to ensure that IPC training, knowledge, and information is easily accessible to everybody that needs it.
The course features modules on standard and transmission-based precautions, the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other essential aspects of infection control in healthcare. A certificate of participation will also be awarded at the end of the course by NCDC.
The online course is also designed to document vital information to monitor IPC compliance across health facilities at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels, both in public, private and faith-based facilities in Nigeria.
The online course is free and interested members of the public can click the link to register: https://elearning.ncdc.gov.ng/courses/infection-prevention-and-control-for-covid-19/.
