Nigeria’s disease control centre launches online course on infection control

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has launched an online course on infection prevention and control (ICP) for health workers, to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection transmission in healthcare setting.

The Director-General of NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, on Sunday in Abuja, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the online course would be available to the general public, particularly the healthcare workers.

According to him, the programme is aimed at reducing the risk of transmission of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases while administering health care in the country.

“As at July 4, a total of 28,167 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 634 deaths have been recorded by NCDC.

“Additionally, as at June 2, about 812 healthcare workers have been infected in the country, with over 230,000 infected globally,” he noted.

Ihekweazu said that the national strategy in term of response to COVID-19 had been multifaceted.

He added that in the absence of a vaccine or cure, compliance with IPC measures remained one of the most effective interventions to control the outbreak.

The director-general said that the NCDC had made efforts to rapidly strengthen the capacity of frontline healthcare workers in infection prevention and control, wherever health care was provided.

“Since the first case in Nigeria was confirmed in February, NCDC has supported the training of about 17,436 health workers in IPC.

“It has been working 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 infection among them.

“To ensure that IPC training, knowledge and information are easily accessible to those who need it, the Infection Prevention and Control Unit of the NCDC, with technical assistance from eHealth Africa, has developed a COVID-19 IPC online course.

“The course features modules on standard and transmission-based precautions, 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,” he stated.

The director-general said that the online course was also designed to document vital information to monitor the IPC compliance across health facilities at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels in public, private and faith-based facilities in the country.

He stated that infection prevention and control measures cut across all other components of the COVID-19 response in Nigeria and that it was critical for strengthening national health security.

“Registration for the free online course on infection prevention and control can be done using the link: https://elearning.ncdc.gov.ng/courses/infection-prevention-and- control-for-covid-19/.

“The NCDC, under the guidance of the Federal Ministry of Health and her other agencies, remains strongly committed to protecting the health of Nigerians.

“We urge the public to remain aware of the risks of COVID-19 and to adhere to the preventive measures advised by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and the Federal Ministry of Health.

“Visit covid19.ncdc.gov.ng for real-time updates and guidelines on the COVID-19 outbreak,” he advised.

By Abujah Racheal