The Infection Prevention and Control Unit of the NCDC, with technical assistance from eHealth Africa, has developed a COVID-19 IPC online course to ensure that Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) training, knowledge, and information is easily accessible to all who need it.
This online course is available to the general public but targeted at health care workers, to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases while administering health care in Nigeria.
As of 08 July 2020, a total of 29,879 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 669 deaths have been recorded by NCDC. Additionally, as at 02 June 2020, about 812 health care workers have been infected in-country with over 230,000 infected globally.
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. Infection prevention and control measures cut across all other components of the COVID-19 response in Nigeria and are critical for strengthening national health security.
The NCDC has made efforts to rapidly strengthen the capacity of frontline healthcare workers in infection prevention and control wherever health care is provided.
Since the first case in Nigeria was confirmed in February, NCDC has supported the training of about 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.
