We are pleased to announce that the online course “ePROTECT respiratory occupational health and safety” is now available on OpenWHO. You can access the course through the following link: https://openwho.org/courses/eprotect-acute-respiratory-infections

All personnel responding to outbreaks of Acute Respiratory Infections (ARIs) need to have the basic knowledge and skills to mount an effective response. They need to understand what ARIs are, how they are transmitted, how to assess the risk of infection and the basic hygiene measures to protect themselves.

This course provides a general introduction to Acute Respiratory Infections (ARIs) and basic hygiene measures to protect against infection.

By the end of this course, participants should understand:

• the basic principles of acute respiratory infections;
• how to assess the risk of infection; and
• basic hygiene measures to protect against infection.

There are 4 modules, as follows:

• Module 1: Acute Respiratory Infections (ARIs) of public health concern - Introduction
• Module 2: How to protect yourself against Acute Respiratory Infections (ARIs)
• Module 3: Basic hygiene measures
• Module 4: Wearing a medical mask

The course will take approximately 2 hours to finish. There is no certificate available at this time.

Hoping to count you among the participants, the OpenWHO team wishes you a successful training!

We are pleased to announce the online course “Introduction to Poliomyelitis and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative” on OpenWHO. You can access the course through the following link: https://openwho.org/courses/polio-introduction/

Polio is a virus that spreads from person-to-person with the ability to cause paralysis.

In 1988, the World Health Assembly passed a resolution to eradicate polio. At the time, there were 125 endemic countries. Currently, wild poliovirus remains in only two countries: Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) is a partnership led by six agencies: WHO, CDC, UNICEF, Rotary BMGF and GAVI. These agencies work together in key areas of surveillance, vaccination, communication, and research to eradicate polio.

This course utilizes short videos and quizzes to introduce the material and test your understanding.

By the end of this course, participants should:

• Describe the poliovirus, including transmission and key definitions;
• Explain the differences between the two polio vaccines and how they contribute to prevention;
• Outline the key components of the polio eradication strategy;
• Summarize the current status of polio eradication; and
• Describe the remaining challenges to polio eradication.

There are six modules, as follows:

• Module 1: Introduction
• Module 2: The Poliovirus
• Module 3: Polio Vaccines
• Module 4: The GPEI Partnership and the Polio Eradication Status
• Module 5: Polio Eradication Strategies
• Module 6: Challenges to Polio Eradication

The course will take approximately one hour to finish. Participants can earn a Record of Achievement by scoring 80% and above on all course assessments.

Hoping to count you among the participants, the OpenWHO team wishes you a successful training!

We are delighted to introduce you to the new online course “Health Cluster Coordination”. This course provides a general introduction to the work of the Health Cluster, which aims to save lives and promote dignity in humanitarian and public health emergencies, and to strengthen the efficiency and accountability of all stakeholders in responding to humanitarian crises. The course can be accessed via the following link: https://openwho.org/courses/health-cluster

By the end of this course, participants should be able to understand the framework of the Health Cluster’s mandate, responsibilities, strategies, lines of accountability and principles in order to lead and coordinate effective, efficient, timely and predictable evidence-based humanitarian health interventions in acute and protracted emergencies.

The full course consists of 17 modules (see below) and will take about 9 hours to complete. Don’t worry - each module can be undertaken separately, whenever it’s most convenient for you! At the end of the course, a record of achievement will be offered to those who earn more than 80% of the maximum number of points from the module assessments. You will also receive a confirmation of participation on completing at least 80% of the course modules.

This interactive online course has been developed by the Global Health Cluster in collaboration with the Health Cluster Capacity Development Task Team, WHO colleagues and our partners from country, regional and global levels who have generously contributed their time and experience. The work was funded by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Whether you are new to the Health Cluster; a more experienced Health Cluster, WHO colleague or partner; are considering joining an emergency roster or have a keen interest in coordination, we strongly encourage you to complete this Health Cluster Coordination online course.

We hope you enjoy the course and would welcome your feedback at healthcluster@who.int. Please also feel free to disseminate this message to your networks. Best regards,

Global Health Cluster team and OpenWHO team

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https://www.who.int/health-cluster/capacity-building/e-learning/en/

17 modules:

• Module 1: Introduction
• Module 2: Global Commitments for Humanitarian and Public Health Emergencies
• Module 3: Health Cluster Coordination: Principles and Functions
• Module 4: Public Health Information Services (PHIS) Standards
• Module 5: Needs Assessment
• Module 6: Public Health Situation Analysis
• Module 7: The Health Resources Availability Monitoring System (HeRAMS) Approach
• Module 8: Humanitarian Response Planning
• Module 9: Cross-Cutting Issues
• Module 10: Inter-Cluster Coordination
• Module 11: The Humanitarian Development and Peace Nexus
• Module 12: Health Advocacy
• Module 13: Resource Mobilisation
• Module 14: Humanitarian Health Response Monitoring
• Module 15: Cluster Coordination Performance Monitoring (CCPM)
• Module 16: Humanitarian Preparedness and Contingency Planning
• Module 17: Transition and Deactivation of Clusters

Nous sommes heureux d'annoncer que le cours en ligne « Virus respiratoires émergents, y compris le nouveau coronavirus (nCoV) : méthodes de détection, de prévention, de réaction et de contrôle » est désormais disponible sur OpenWHO. Vous pouvez accéder au cours en utilisant le lien suivant : https://openwho.org/courses/introduction-au-ncov.

Les coronavirus sont une vaste famille de virus susceptibles de provoquer des maladies diverses chez l'homme, allant du simple rhume au syndrome respiratoire du Moyen-Orient (MERS) et au syndrome respiratoire aigu sévère (SRAS).

Un nouveau coronavirus (CoV) a été identifié en 2019 à Wuhan, en Chine. Il s'agit d'un nouveau coronavirus qui n'avait pas encore été identifié chez l'homme. Ce cours constitue une introduction générale au nCoV et aux virus respiratoires émergents ; il est destiné aux professionnels de santé publique, aux gestionnaires d'incidents, coordonnateurs d’urgence et aux collaborateurs travaillant pour les Nations Unies, les organisations internationales, ainsi que les ONG.

À la fin de ce cours, vous serez en mesure de décrire :

• La nature des virus respiratoires émergents, la façon de détecter et d'investiguer une épidémie, les stratégies de prévention et de contrôle des épidémies dues aux nouveaux virus respiratoires ;
• Les stratégies qui devraient être utilisées pour communiquer les risques et impliquer les communautés dans la détection, la prévention et la réponse à l'émergence d'un nouveau virus respiratoire.

Il est composé de trois modules, répartis comme suit :

• Virus respiratoires émergents, y compris le nouveau coronavirus (nCoV) : Introduction
• Module A : Introduction aux virus respiratoires émergents, y compris le nouveau coronavirus (nCoV)
• Module B : Détection des virus respiratoires émergents, y compris le nCoV : surveillance et recherche en laboratoire

Le cours durera environ 3 heures.

Remarque :

• Les équipes de l'OMS travaillent sur des modules supplémentaires qui seront mis en ligne dans les prochains jours.
• Vous serez avertis lorsque de nouveaux modules et de nouvelles vidéos seront mis en ligne. Actuellement, le matériel est proposé sous forme de diapositives.
• À l'avenir, ce cours permettra d'obtenir une attestation, lorsque tous les modules auront été publiés et qu'un quiz aura été ajouté à chaque module.
• Les supports de cours sont en cours de traduction dans d'autres langues.

En espérant vous compter parmi les participants, l'équipe d'OpenWHO vous souhaite une bonne formation !

WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme (WHE) issues real-time training to help health workers around the world fight the 2019 nCoV outbreak.

WHE’s Learning and Capacity Development team worked with WHO experts to quickly develop and deliver an online training on the detection, prevention, response and control of the coronavirus even before the outbreak was declared a public health emergency of international concern. The course is a new online learning resource on OpenWHO.org which was established three years ago for when emergencies arise, when we would have to reach millions of people across the world in real-time with accessible learning materials.

The course “Emerging respiratory viruses, including nCoV: methods for detection, prevention, response and control” is a free, open-source learning resource for anybody interested in the novel coronavirus. It is also a very useful source of knowledge for any WHO staff.

The course was published on January 26th and has now more than 25,000 enrolled users in a period of 10 days. Approximately 3,000 new users have registered for the online resource every day since its launch, illustrating the high levels of interest in the virus among health care professionals and the general public. In addition, more than 200,000 people have viewed the introductory video in the course on YouTube.

The learning resource is currently in production and translation into all official languages and Portuguese.

We are pleased to announce the online course “WHO Critical Care Severe Acute Respiratory Infection Training Short Course” on OpenWHO. You can access the course through the following link: https://openwho.org/courses/severe-acute-respiratory-infection

The WHO Critical Care Training Short Course for Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) includes content on clinical management of patients with a severe acute respiratory infection.

This course is intended for clinicians who are working in intensive care units (ICUs) in low and middle-income countries and managing adult and pediatric patients with severe forms of acute respiratory infection (SARI), including severe pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), sepsis and septic shock. It is a hands-on practical guide to be used by health care professionals involved in critical care management during outbreaks of influenza virus (seasonal) human infection due avian influenza virus (H5N1, H7N9), MERS-CoV, nCoV or other emerging respiratory viral epidemics.

By the end of this course, participants should:

• Possess some of the necessary tools that can be used to care for the critically ill patient from hospital entry to hospital discharge.

There are 14 modules, as follows:

• Module 1: Introduction to nCoV and IPC
• Module 2: Clinical Syndromes and Pathophysiology of Sepsis and ARDS
• Module 3: Triage
• Module 4: Monitoring
• Module 5: Diagnostics
• Module 6: Oxygen Therapy
• Module 7: Antimicrobials
• Module 8: Sepsis
• Module 9: Mechanical Ventilation
• Module 10: Sedation
• Module 11: Best Practices to Prevent Complications
• Module 12: Liberation from Mechanical Ventilation
• Module 13: Quality in Critical Care
• Module 14: Pandemic Preparedness and Ethical Considerations

The course will take approximately 10 hours to finish.

Hoping to count you among the participants, the OpenWHO team wishes you a successful training!

WHO has set a target of 1 billion more people better protected from health emergencies. To achieve that, a health workforce of excellence is needed, supported by a learning strategy that provides a framework for all learning using a competency-based approach. Competency-based learning has been derived from Human Resources practices of identifying the knowledge, skills and attributes required for staff to complete the roles assigned to them and linking these roles to the goals of the organization. In emergency work where staff and leaders face unique pressures, their ability to demonstrate the core competencies becomes particularly important.

WHE core competencies are a subset of WHO competencies: Moving forward in a changing environment, applying technical expertise, communication, teamwork, building and promoting partnerships, and leadership. Functional competencies are encouraged to be developed by technical teams in charge of functional areas. Providing objective and constructive feedback on behaviours can help an individual identify and reflect on his/her strengths and areas for development, which is a key part of the learning process. Competencies must be understood by the staff and personnel supporting a learning programme; faculty should be trained in their use for designing, delivering and assessing learning and training activities.

The OpenWHO team will present the findings of their research at the conference Medical Informatics Europe in Geneva, Switzerland, in April 2020. Earlier this week, the team also published the course Competency-Based Learning: Introduction on OpenWHO.org, which provides an introduction to the WHE learning strategy, the competency-based approach that underlies it and how it can be used to design learning and training. The course has accumulated over 1,500 enrolments in the two days since its launch.

We are pleased to announce the online course “Competency-Based Learning: Introduction” is now available on OpenWHO. You can access the course through the following link: https://openwho.org/courses/intro-competency.

World Health Organization (WHO) staff need ongoing learning to equip themselves to deal with modern emergencies. This short course provides an introduction to the WHO Health Emergencies Programme’s learning strategy, the competency-based approach that underlies it and how it can be used to design and deliver training.

By the end of this course, participants should be able to:

• State the strategy that guides learning and training within WHE;
• List the three main learning pathways in the WHE learning strategy;
• Describe what a competency is and its three main components;
• List the two main groups of competencies in the WHE competency framework;
• Describe the 6 core competencies in the WHE competency framework;
• List at least one behavioural indicator for each of the core competencies; and
• Describe an approach that can be used to integrate the competency framework into learning.

There are two modules, as follows:

• Module 1: An introduction to the WHE learning strategy
• Module 2: Core competencies and how to use the framework

The course will take approximately 1.5 hours to finish.

Hoping to count you among the participants, the OpenWHO team wishes you a successful training!

We are pleased to announce the online course “Emerging respiratory viruses, including nCoV: methods for detection, prevention, response and control” is now available on OpenWHO. You can access the course through the following link: https://openwho.org/courses/introduction-to-ncov.

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are known to cause illness, ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

A novel coronavirus (CoV) was identified in 2019 in Wuhan, China. This is a new coronavirus that has not been previously identified in humans. This course provides a general introduction to nCoV and emerging respiratory viruses and is intended for public health professionals, incident managers and personnel working for the United Nations, international organizations and NGOs.

By the end of this course, participants should be able to:

• Understand the fundamental principles of emerging respiratory viruses and how to effectively respond to an outbreak.

There are two modules, as follows:

• Module A: Introduction to Emerging respiratory viruses, including nCoV
• Module B: Detecting Emerging respiratory viruses, including nCoV: Surveillance and Laboratory investigation
• Module C: Risk Communication and Community Engagement
• And more to come!

The course will take approximately 1 hour to finish.

Hoping to count you among the participants, the OpenWHO team wishes you a successful training!

OpenWHO’s ePROTECT course has become a key source of support depended on by healthcare workers and frontline responders fighting Ebola at the country-level. The course is available in both French and English and acts as an occupational health and safety briefing, providing all of the basic information needed to prepare healthcare workers for deployment to an Ebola-affected area.

The platform witnessed a dramatic increase in ePROTECT use in the months following the August 2018 declaration of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's (DRC) eastern Kivu region. Another sharp spike was seen in October 2018, soon after two key events: firstly, in September 2018, WHO declared the risk of the spread of Ebola from the DRC to be “very high” at the regional level. Secondly, in October 2018, the Ministry of Health of South Sudan (currently a Priority 1 country for the ongoing outbreak in the DRC) urged healthcare workers to refresh their knowledge of Ebola. The increases in course enrolments and user registrations that had been sustained throughout 2018 also continued into 2019, as the Director-General of WHO declared the outbreak to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

At one point during the last year, the nine priority countries for the ongoing outbreak in the DRC (Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan, Burundi, Angola, Zambia, Tanzania, Central African Republic and Republic of Congo) contributed approximately 900 new course enrolments a day across the English and French versions of the ePROTECT course. Currently, the five countries that users most commonly come from are South Sudan, Sudan, India, Nigeria and Uganda. Concerning the current Ebola outbreak in the DRC, 2 out of the 5 of these (South Sudan and Uganda) are listed as Priority 1 countries by the World Health Organization. South Sudan alone attracts over 3 000 users to the course, making up more than a fifth of all enrolments. In total, the top five user countries constitute over 41% of all ePROTECT users across the two course languages.

To view the following announcement in Arabic, please click here.

We are pleased to announce the Arabic translation of the online course “Accelerating progress towards health-related SDGs” on OpenWHO. You can access the course through the following link: https://openwho.org/courses/SDG3-health-well-being-AR

Since 2000, impressive advancements have been made on many health fronts. However, to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) health targets by 2030, progress must be accelerated, in particular in regions with the highest burden of disease. The course gives an overview of the objectives and provides a series of recommendations.

The course consists of five modules and will take approximately 2 hours to finish. At the end of the course, a confirmation of participation will be provided to participants who complete at least 50% of the course material.

Hoping to count you among the participants, the OpenWHO team wishes you a successful training!

A French version of the course can be accessed through the following link: https://openwho.org/courses/ODD3-sante-bien-etre

A Spanish version of the course can be accessed through the following link: https://openwho.org/courses/ODS3-salud-bienestar

The course “Management and Facilitation of an After Action Review (AAR)” is now available on OpenWHO.

The course has been designed to introduce learners to the knowledge and skills needed for the successful management and facilitation of an After Action Review (AAR).

The course consists of 4 chapters:

• Chapter 1: Context, purpose and description
• Chapter 2: Key steps for conducting an AAR using the working group format
• Chapter 3: Facilitation guidance
• Chapter 4: Available resources

Upon completion of this online course, the learner should be able to:

1. Explain the context and the purpose of an AAR
2. Describe the key steps of an AAR process (by using the working group format)
3. Describe the roles and responsibilities of facilitators in an AAR and describe the techniques for participatory facilitation
4. Access the available resources developed by WHO for conducting an AAR

The target audience of this course consists of IHR NFPs, WHO staff, health professionals, partners and any person interested in reviewing and learning from the response to a public health event or emergency in order to be better prepared for the future.

The course will take approximately 1 hour to complete. Participants who score 80% and above on the final course assessment will be able to download a record of achievement.

You can access the OpenWHO course “Management and facilitation of an After Action Review (AAR)” at this link: https://openwho.org/courses/AAR-en

The OpenWHO team wishes you a successful learning experience!

An article published in the American Journal of Public Health has commended OpenWHO as an example of the incredible ways digital technology and innovation are improving learning for the world's public health professionals. The authors praised the platform for its “significant contribution to global health”, which has “reshaped the landscape for distance learning” through the promotion of massive open online courses (MOOCs).

Professional profiles of OpenWHO’s 74 000 users confirm the platform’s popularity at the country-level, among United Nations country teams and Ministries of Health.

Since its inception, a core value of OpenWHO has been to provide timely, up-to-date and easy-to-understand lifesaving knowledge to healthcare workers based in-country and responding to outbreaks at the frontline. To assess their success at achieving this aim, the OpenWHO team recently launched an analysis into the most common professional profiles of users registered on the platform. The results highlighted the platform’s popularity among healthcare workers based at the country level, with significant numbers of users registering their professional affiliations as either ‘UN country team’ or ‘Health Ministry', with only the categories of ‘student’ and ‘other’ proving to be more popular among respondents.

The data also illustrated that, in addition to the popular categories of United Nations country teams and Health Ministries, the remaining users were associated with a wide range of professional bodies and occupations, both within public health and beyond, ranging from students and volunteers to WHO staff, to members of international organisations and NGOs. As such, the data suggests that OpenWHO has been successful in achieving yet another one of its aims, to make health-related technical knowledge more accessible to all, including the general public.

Delivering life-saving knowledge to those who need it most, anywhere in the world.

OpenWHO recently celebrated a significant milestone, surpassing 74 000 unique user registrations on the platform. While many of these users are based in the following five countries: the United States of America, India, Portugal, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia, the platform's users come from over 190 countries, representing almost all of the world's nations.

More importantly, among the top 20 countries with the highest numbers of users registered on the platform, four are currently experiencing ongoing WHO-graded health emergencies, namely, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Pakistan, and Nigeria. With courses available on the platform in many languages (including the local languages of affected communities), the data on user location provides additional evidence that OpenWHO continues to successfully serve one of its core missions: to deliver lifesaving knowledge to those responding to health emergencies, no matter their location.

OpenWHO's contributions towards widening access to lifesaving information acknowledged by Imperial College Senior Fellow.

In Extending the Reach of Local Healthcare Initiatives with Massive Open Online Courses, published in the European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning (EURODL), author Dr Louise M. Blakemore of Imperial College London paid favourable notice to OpenWHO, commending the platform's "rapid translation" of resources into the languages required by healthcare professionals responding to health emergencies. Dr Blakemore specifically cited the availability of resources on the platform in Lingala, Congolese Swahili and Malagasy as evidence for OpenWHO's commitment to disseminating knowledge in the languages spoken by communities affected by particular outbreaks, and used her article to corroborate the critical importance of such resources.

Le cours « Bon usage des antibiotiques: une approche par compétences » est maintenant disponible en français

Plus de 25 000 personne ont commencé le cours massif en ligne Bon usage des antibiotiques : approche par compétence depuis janvier 2018. Aujourd’hui, pour la première fois, le cours sera disponible en français.

Le cours de 8 heures est disponible sur « OpenWHO », la plateforme de transfert de connaissance en ligne et interactive et s'adresse aux prescripteurs d'antibiotiques de première ligne travaillant dans les établissements de soins de santé primaires et les hôpitaux.

Les données indiquent que les antibiotiques sont mal utilisés dans les établissements de soins de santé, ce qui contribue à l'émergence d'organismes multirésistants, qui menacent de saper bon nombre des progrès médicaux les plus importants du siècle dernier.

Manipulez les antibiotiques avec précaution

Les antibiotiques sont des médicaments qui sauvent des vies et leur découverte est l'une des avancées les plus importantes du XXe siècle. Pour que ces médicaments qui sauvent des vies continuent de fonctionner, nous devons tous utiliser les antibiotiques judicieusement. Le « Bon usage des antibiotiques » désigne les interventions conçues pour promouvoir l'utilisation optimale des agents antibiotiques, y compris le choix des médicaments, la posologie, la voie d'administration et la durée de l'administration. Pour lutter contre la résistance aux antimicrobiens, tous les cliniciens doivent devenir les gardiens des antimicrobiens en les prescrivant de façon appropriée et en éduquant leurs patients et leurs collègues sur l'utilisation appropriée de cette ressource médicale de plus en plus menacée.

Version française: https://openwho.org/courses/competence-antibioresistance

English version: https://openwho.org/courses/AMR-competency

Researchers have known for some time that the completion rates for most Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are unfortunately low, and completion rates across the industry have been estimated to be anywhere between 4% and 15%. While completion rates are not the only way to measure the success of a MOOC, the OpenWHO team was nonetheless pleased to recently discover that completion rates for many of the courses offered on the platform are at least equal to, and usually above, the average rate for the industry.

Typically, completion rates on OpenWHO vary between approximately 10% (a figure near the top end of the industry average) to an outstanding 90.8% (for ePROTECT English). Most of the top emergency-related courses that offer certificates on OpenWHO experience an impressive completion rate between 30% and 45%. Antimicrobial stewardship, the platform's most popular course with over 21 000 enrolled users, follows a similar pattern of success, with a completion rate of 22%. It is worth noting that, in this case, the team's analysis only included those courses for which certificates were available to eligible participants, and further research will seek to uncover what effect, if any, the availability of a course certificate has on the course's completion rate.

The figure illustrates the completion rates for the most popular emergency-related courses that offer certificates and are available on OpenWHO.

Recent research into OpenWHO user metrics has unveiled the fact that the 12 most popular emergency-related courses on OpenWHO appear, in descending order, as follows: ePROTECT, Incident Management System (IMS) Tier 1, Ebola: Knowledge Resources for Responders, Ebola GO 2.0, Pandemic and Epidemic Prone Diseases, Risk Communication Essentials, Cholera: Introduction, Public Health Interventions in Pandemics and Epidemics, Ebola: Clinical Management of Ebola Virus Disease, IMS Tier 2, Operational Readiness and, finally, Meningitis: Introduction. In total, the above courses have attracted almost 70 000 course enrolments, more than half of the 136 000 enrolments which have accumulated on the platform since its launch two years ago.

The report also revealed that the most popular emergency-related course on the platform, ePROTECT (which hosts more than 14 000 enrolled users) is also the second most popular course out of all of the courses available on the platform. In general, emergency-related courses appear to be a strong favourite among OpenWHO users, with only one non-emergency-related course, Antimicrobial Stewardship: A competency-based approach, attracting more enrolments than ePROTECT.

OpenWHO releases course in Portuguese: IMS Tier 2 - Working in WHO’s Incident Management System

Todas as pessoas que trabalham em emergências para a OMS devem estar familiarizadas com o Sistema de Gestão de Ocorrências (IMS), que a OMS usa para organizar e gerenciar sua resposta.

O Programa de Emergências de Saúde da OMS desenvolveu um curso de nível intermediário sobre o IMS que já foi lançado em inglês, francês, russo e espanhol. Estamos felizes em fornecer o curso completo em Português.

O curso é composto por 5 módulos com narração em áudio e questionário. Abrange:

1. Os elementos chave do IMS da OMS e o trabalho em Centros de Operações de Emergência;
2. A forma como as equipas funcionais no âmbito do IMS trabalham em conjunto;
3. Os padrões éticos que devem ser observados pelas pessoas mobilizáveis pela OMS durante uma resposta de emergência;
4. Como trabalhar em equipa de maneira eficaz; e
5. O processo de mobilização e de se manter saudável.

Todos os membros actuais ou potenciais das equipas funcionais do IMS, incluindo os funcionários que não sejam da OMS que serao mobilizáveis, devem concluir o presente curso. Isso levará aproximadamente 3 horas. Um certificado de aproveitamento será fornecido aos participantes que obtiverem uma pontuação igual ou superior a 80% em cada avaliação.

Pode acessar ao curso através do seguinte link: https://openwho.org/courses/sistema-de-gestao-de-ocorrencias-nivel2

Antes de começar este pacote de nível intermédio, recomenda-se que conclua o curso introdutório sobre o IMS, disponível aqui (English/français).

Obrigado pela sua participação nos cursos OpenWHO,

A equipa OpenWHO

• The English version of this course is available here: https://openwho.org/courses/incident-management-system-tier2
• La version française de ce cours est disponible sur : https://openwho.org/courses/systeme-de-gestion-des-incidents-niveau2
• La versión en español de este curso está disponible aquí : https://openwho.org/courses/sistema-de-gestion-de-incidentes-nivel2
• Версию этого курса на русском языке найти можно по этой ссылке : https://openwho.org/courses/incident-management-system-tier2-RU

OpenWHO recently celebrated a significant milestone, surpassing 74 000 unique user registrations on the platform. While many of these users are based in the following five countries: the United States of America, India, Portugal, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia, the platform's users come from over 190 countries, representing almost all of the world's nations.

More importantly, among the top 20 countries with the highest numbers of users registered on the platform, four are currently experiencing ongoing WHO-graded health emergencies, namely, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Pakistan, and Nigeria. With courses available on the platform in over 20 languages (including the local languages of affected communities), the data on user location provides additional evidence that OpenWHO continues to successfully serve one of its core missions: to deliver lifesaving knowledge to those responding to health emergencies, no matter their location.

In Extending the Reach of Local Healthcare Initiatives with Massive Open Online Courses, published in the European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning (EURODL), author Dr Louise M. Blakemore of Imperial College London paid favourable notice to OpenWHO, commending the platform's "rapid translation" of resources into the languages required by healthcare professionals responding to health emergencies. Dr Blakemore specifically cited the availability of resources on the platform in Lingala, Congolese Swahili and Malagasy as evidence for OpenWHO's commitment to disseminating knowledge in the languages spoken by communities affected by particular outbreaks and used her article to corroborate the critical importance of such resources.

OpenWHO has been favourably mentioned in an academic review published by the Oxford University Press, on behalf of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. The authors reviewed OpenWHO's Antimicrobial Stewardship course, praising the course for its simple yet engaging language and structure, and excellent use of informative audiovisual materials. The platform was also lauded for the "significant interactivity" it offers to users through its discussion fora and collaboration spaces.

The English version of the course can be accessed here, and the French version can be accessed here.

The following announcement pertains to the launch of a course in Spanish.

The English version of this course is available here: https://openwho.org/courses/incident-management-system-tier2.

La version française de ce cours est disponible sur : https://openwho.org/courses/systeme-de-gestion-des-incidents-niveau2.

Версию этого курса на русском языке найти можно по этой ссылке : https://openwho.org/courses/incident-management-system-tier2-RU

Toda persona que trabaje en emergencias para la OMS debe conocer el Sistema de Gestión de Incidentes (IMS, por sus siglas en inglés), que la OMS utiliza para organizar y gestionar su respuesta.

El Programa de Emergencias Sanitarias de la OMS ha desarrollado un curso de nivel intermedio sobre el IMS que se publicó anteriormente en inglés, francés y ruso. Estamos encantados de ofrecer ahora el curso completo en español en OpenWHO.

El curso consta de cinco módulos con narración de audio y cuestionario. El curso cubre: (1) los elementos clave del IMS de la OMS y del trabajo en los Centros de Operaciones de Emergencia; (2) cómo los equipos funcionales dentro del IMS trabajan en conjunto; (3) los estándares éticos que deben respetar aquellos que sean desplegados por la OMS durante una respuesta ante emergencias; (4) cómo trabajar en equipo de manera eficaz; y (5) el proceso de despliegue y mantenerse sano.

Todos los miembros actuales o potenciales de los equipos funcionales del IMS, incluido el personal no miembro de la OMS que será desplegado, deben completar este curso. Durará aproximadamente tres horas. Se proporcionará un Certificado de Logro a todos los participantes que obtengan un puntaje del 80 % o más en cada prueba.

Puede acceder al curso a través del siguiente enlace: https://openwho.org/courses/sistema-de-gestion-de-incidentes-nivel2

Antes de comenzar este curso de nivel intermedio, se recomienda a los participantes que completen el curso introductorio del IMS, el cual está disponible aquí (English/Français).

Gracias por participar en los cursos de OpenWHO,

El Equipo de OpenWHO

OpenWHO continues to provide support for response to WHO colleagues and other frontline health workers fighting to contain the spread of the virus and prevent loss of life in the DRC. The platform offers six Ebola-related courses available in multiple languages and covering various aspects of the disease, including clinical management and pre-deployment training. All Ebola-related courses are accessible directly through OpenWHO's homepage, under the Current Outbreaks section.

The OpenWHO team was invited to present their original paper at the European MOOCs Stakeholders Summit last month. The summit was an opportunity for the team to share the findings of their own research, as well as engage with and learn from industry pioneers and researchers across the online learning and data science community. The paper, which was recently published, can be accessed here.

Всем лицам, работающим с ВОЗ в условиях чрезвычайных ситуаций, необходимо ознакомиться с Системой управления инцидентами (СУИ), используемой ВОЗ для организации и управления мерами реагирования.

Программа ВОЗ по чрезвычайным ситуациям в области здравоохранения разработала курс среднего уровня по СУИ, который был выпущен на английском и французском языках в декабре. Мы рады предоставить полный курс на русском языке - наш первый курс на русском языке на OpenWHO!

Курс состоит из 5 модулей со звуковым сопровождением и проверочными вопросами. В курсе рассматриваются:

1. ключевые элементы Системы управления инцидентами ВОЗ и работа в центрах по проведению операций при чрезвычайных ситуациях;
2. Как функциональные группы работают вместе в рамках СУИ;
3. этические стандарты которых надо придерживаться при отправке персонала ВОЗ в ходе реагирования на чрезвычайные ситуации;
4. способы эффективной работы в команде;
5. процесс командирования и поддержание здоровья.

Курс необходимо пройти всем командируемым участникам, задействованным в мерах по реагированию: как действующим так и потенциальным членам функциональных групп СУИ, включая внештатных сотрудников ВОЗ. Он займет около 3 часов. Сертификат будет предоставлен участникам, набравшим 80% и более от максимального количества баллов баллов за каждое задание.

Доступ к курсу вы можете получить, пройдя по следующей ссылке: https://openwho.org/courses/incident-management-system-tier2-RU

Прежде чем приступить к заданиям среднего уровня, мы рекомендуем Вам пройти вступительный курс по СУИ, который доступен здесь (English/Français).

Благодарим вас за участие в курсах OpenWHO! Команда OpenWHO

The English version of this course is available here: https://openwho.org/courses/incident-management-system-tier2. La version française de ce cours est disponible sur : https://openwho.org/courses/systeme-de-gestion-des-incidents-niveau2.

OpenWHO has a new function - live briefing. Online learners have the chance to watch the live broadcast, ask questions and download the briefing clip afterwards. The functionality enables live, direct recordings and aims to simplify and economize the knowledge transfer process during emergencies.

Nous avons le plaisir de vous annoncer que le cours en ligne “Formation en Gestion des Exercices de Simulation : Introduction” est maintenant disponible sur OpenWHO. Vous pouvez accéder au cours à travers le lien suivant : https://openwho.org/courses/simex-fr.

Ce cours vous donnera un aperçu des exercices de simulation et vous expliquera le rôle qu’ils jouent dans l'élaboration et la mise en œuvre des mesures de préparation aux urgences sanitaires. Les exercices de simulation permettent de s'assurer que les systèmes d'intervention d'urgence sont opérationnels pour gérer les urgences sanitaires.

Le but de ce cours est de vous familiariser avec la méthodologie de l'OMS, les processus et les définitions, ainsi que les ressources disponibles. Ce cours comprend trois modules :

• Module 1 Introduction aux exercices de simulation ;
• Module 2 Gestion de projet pour les exercices de simulation;
  
• Module 3 Ressources et outils de l’OMS disponibles pour les exercices de simulation.

Le cours dure environ 1 heure. À la fin du cours, un certificat de réussite sera remis aux participants qui auront obtenu une note de 80 % ou plus à l'évaluation finale.

OpenWHO team is investigating the impact of various dissemination channels, such as email or social media, on course reach, particularly course enrolments. Current findings include the conclusion that mobile distribution channels generate significant user traffic when compared with other distribution channels, and that the success of particular distribution channels differs according to course language.

What's next? The team is piloting artificial intelligence using machine learning approach to better predict learner motivations and performances. The ultimate goal: provide personalized training suggestions for each learner.

OpenWHO reached an exciting milestone this week: More than 100 000 course enrolments!

We would like to thank you, the frontline health workers, decision makers, researchers, experts, medical students and other learning enthusiasts across the globe for making the “open-to-all” concept possible. The virtual health community is growing fast thanks to your passion for health and for Health for All.

OpenWHO will continue to transfer the latest and most relevant scientific, technical and operational knowledge to our growing community to improve health emergency response:

• Outbreak channel: Offers introductory courses on a wide range of diseases, including cholera, Ebola, Zika, yellow fever and MERS.
• Preparing for Pandemics: Brings together courses on various aspects of a pandemic.
• Ready for Response: Provides essential knowledge for ongoing outbreak response, enabling frontline responders to respond better, faster and more safely.
• Get Social: Focuses on cross-cutting interventions, such as risk communication.

As we work to create a better OpenWHO, we look forward to receiving your continued feedback through our help desk.

Thank you again for enabling us to achieve this important milestone for OpenWHO.

The Engish version of this course is also available at: https://openwho.org/courses/risk-communication

Toute personne travaillant pour l’OMS dans des situations d’urgence doit se familiariser avec la Communication sur les Risques (RC). Le programme de gestion des situations d’urgence sanitaire (WHE) de l’OMS a mis au point un nouveau cours fondé sur la communication sur les risques pour mieux comprendre le Système que l’OMS utilise pour organiser et gérer ses interventions.

Vous pouvez accéder à ce nouveau cours ici : https://openwho.org/courses/communication-sur-les-risques

Le programme pédagogique se compose de 4 modules avec narration audio et quizz. Il couvre : (1) I’introduction au cours sur la communication sur les risques ; (2) les rudiments de la communication sur les risques ; (3) les capacités de communication sur les risques ; et (4) les outils de communication sur les risques.

Tous les membres actuels ou potentiels des équipes fonctionnelles de la communication sur les risques, y compris le personnel non affecté à l'OMS qui sera déployé, doivent suivre ce cours. Cela prendra environ 8 heures (Aucun certificat de réussite ne sera remis aux participants à l’issu de ce cours).

Nos complace anunciar la versión en español del curso combinado «Accelerating progress towards health-related SDGs – Short track» en OpenWHO. Usted puede acceder al curso a través del siguiente enlace: https://openwho.org/courses/ODS3-salud-bienestar

Este curso intenta ofrecer una visión general de los conceptos, estrategias y oportunidades fundamentales para trabajar eficazmente con los Estados miembros de la OMS y los agentes no estatales para lograr las metas de los ODS relacionados con la salud y la cobertura universal de salud. Esta es una versión condensada del curso más extenso «Accelerating progress towards health related SDGs», que está disponible a través de iLearn. Uno de los principales objetivos de este curso es crear una comprensión más profunda de por qué la CUS y la seguridad sanitaria juegan un papel fundamental en la Agenda 2030 y cómo las seis líneas de acción de la OMS pueden ayudar a acelerar su cumplimiento hasta 2030.

Los profesionales de la salud y no sanitarios, como el personal de la OMS, el personal del Ministerio de Salud, otras organizaciones públicas y no gubernamentales pertinentes, pueden beneficiarse de este curso, ya que están en posiciones críticas para apoyar la aceleración del fortalecimiento de los sistemas de salud para la CUS y la adopción de un enfoque de «salud en todas las políticas» para no dejar atrás a nadie. Este curso pretende apoyarlos en este rol.

El curso tiene una duración de 2 horas. Se entrega una confirmación de participación a quienes hayan completado al menos el 50% del material de curso. Una versión del curso detallado en inglés también está disponible en iLearn: https://who.csod.com/client/who/default.aspx

This course is also available in English and French.

English: https://who.csod.com/client/who/default.aspx
French: https://openwho.org/courses/ODD3-sante-bien-etre

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We are pleased to announce the online course Simulation Exercise Management: Introduction on OpenWHO. You can access the course through the following link: https://openwho.org/courses/simex

This course will provide an overview of simulation exercises and how they play a key role in identifying the strengths and gaps in the development and implementation of preparedness measures. The use of exercises ensures that public health emergency response systems are in place to manage health emergencies. In the WHO Department of Emergency Preparedness and Response (WHE), simulation exercises play an important role in the work of many teams. These teams provide cross-cutting technical inputs, resources, facilitation and other services.

Regional Offices and country offices provide the main entry point for all Member States in support of all the various WHE emergency simulation exercises.

The aim of the course is to familiarize you with the WHO methodology, process and definitions used, and resources available. There are three modules, as follows:

• Module 1 gives the overview of Simulation Exercises and their management;
• Module 2 deals with the Project Management of Simulation Exercises;
  
• Module 3 gives an overview of the WHO Resources and Tools available in preparation for the Simulation Exercise.

The course will take approximately 1 hour to finish. At the end of the course, a certificate of achievement will be provided to participants who score 80% or higher on the final assessment.

Hoping to count you among the participants, the OpenWHO team wishes you a successful training!

OpenWHO team

National deployment and vaccination plans for pandemic influenza vaccines represent an important foundation for an effective and efficient pandemic influenza deployment response, which should be reflected in successful vaccination of the target population with no vaccine wastage and optimal operational efficiency.

This course provides a concise and easily accessible overview of planning considerations for countries to develop and update their national deployment and vaccination plans on the use and deployment of pandemic influenza vaccines.

You can access the new course here: Pandemic Influenza Vaccines: National Deployment and Vaccination Plans https://openwho.org/courses/ndvp-en

The learning package consists of 10 modules with video presentations and quizzes. It covers: (1) Vaccination strategies, (2) Management and organization, (3) Legal and regulatory planning, (4) Communication and information management, (5) Human resources and security, (6) Public communication, (7) Supply chain management, (8) Managing waste, (9) Post-deployment surveillance and management of adverse events following immunization, (10) Termination of deployment and vaccination operations.

Professionals in the public and private sectors who are responsible for planning and managing deployment and vaccination operations at all levels as well as WHO headquarters, regional and in-country personnel that could be involved in pandemic influenza vaccine deployment activities should complete this course.

The course will take approximately 1 hour to complete. A record of achievement will be provided to participants who score 80% or higher on each assessment.

Best wishes for a successful training!

Sincerely,

The OpenWHO team

Every individual working in emergencies for WHO must be familiar with the Incident Management System (IMS). The WHO Health Emergencies Programme has developed a new course that builds on the introductory IMS course to provide a deeper understanding of the system that WHO uses to organize and manage its response.

The learning package is comprised of 5 modules with audio narration and quizzes. It covers: (1) the key elements of WHO’s IMS and working in Emergency Operations Centres; (2) how the functional teams within the IMS work together; (3) the ethical standards that are required to be upheld by those deployed by WHO during an emergency; (4) how to work effectively in a team; and (5) the process of deploying and staying healthy.

All current or potential members of IMS functional teams, including non-WHO staff who will deploy, should complete this course. It will take approximately 3 hours. A certificate of achievement will be provided to participants who score 80% or higher on each assessment.

You can access the new course here: IMS Tier 2: Working in WHO’s Incident Management System https://openwho.org/courses/incident-management-system-tier2

Please note: Before beginning this intermediate-level package, we recommend that you complete the introductory IMS course (Tier 1) https://openwho.org/courses/incident-management-system

We are pleased to announce the online course “Introduction: Operational Readiness (Tier 1)” on OpenWHO. You can access the course through the following link: https://openwho.org/courses/operational-readiness-introduction

This course will provide an overview of the WHO Health Emergencies Operational Readiness program (OPR). The course offers an outline of Operational Readiness and presents the five minimum readiness standards as defined by WHO during the Global Meeting on Operational Readiness in December 2017. In two modules, the course will highlight how Operational Readiness can be achieved and applied to all hazards and emergencies. Modules 1 will review and describe to participants the core elements of OPR and how it is achieved, implemented to ensure countries, partners and WHO offices can increase their readiness to emergency response. Modules 2 will illustrate the 5 minimum OPR standards and explain how participants can support OPR at their levels and within their functions of work. This course is meant to assist and educate you to be an advocate of the Operational Readiness program.

The course will take approximately 1 hour to finish.

Hoping to count you among the participants, the OpenWHO team wishes you a successful training!

OpenWHO.org est la première plateforme de l'Organisation Mondiale de la Santé à intégrer des concepts d'apprentissage en ligne ouverts et massifs dans les interventions d'urgence. Un an après son lancement en juin 2017, OpenWHO est passé d'un projet pilote à une communauté de professionnels de la santé florissante de plus de 35 000 utilisateurs et plus de 40 cours.

La plateforme comprend divers types de produits et comprend du matériel destiné aux travailleurs de la santé et aux travailleurs communautaires qui sont en première ligne de la réponse à l'éclosion. Le matériel comprend des connaissances épidémiologiques et des interventions sanitaires sur des maladies infectieuses comme la maladie du virus Ebola (Ebola), la fièvre jaune, la peste et le choléra. Ces documents sont également produits dans les langues locales les plus couramment utilisées par les intervenants locaux dans les zones d'éclosion.

Lors de la dernière flambée d'Ebola, OpenWHO a aidé à équiper les agents de santé et a reçu plus de 4000 enregistrements provenant de plus de 100 pays.

The WHO Health Emergencies Programme’s Knowledge Transfer Team, together with disease technical experts, has created an online learning pathway for Ebola responders. There are currently 5 different learning resources on OpenWHO.org in English and French and each of them addresses a different type of learning need, from a disease introduction, to a staff pre-deployment briefing, to a function-specific resource for clinical management of Ebola.

The need for knowledge transfer in infectious disease outbreaks was recognized during the 2014–2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Similarly, in all major epidemics of past years, including yellow fever and Zika, there has been an increased need for a system that quickly transforms scientific knowledge into action on the ground. OpenWHO.org was born from that need.

One year after the launch, the OpenWHO platform has been particularly useful for emergencies and its suitability has been tested in real time during recent responses: the plague outbreak in Madagascar; clinical management of diphtheria for the Rohingya refugee crisis in Bangladesh; the Lassa fever outbreak in Nigeria; and the Ebola outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

For the Ebola outbreaks in DRC, materials were produced at very short notice and distributed to and used by responders on the front lines, as well as in neighbouring countries. The outbreaks occurred in Uélé province (2017) and Équateur province (2018), and, as of August 2018, there is an outbreak in North Kivu province. The importance of producing accurate materials in the appropriate formats and languages at the right time is central to this work. The Ebola-specific learning pathway includes resources for frontline responders in Lingala and Congolese Swahili, which are the most-spoken languages in the affected provinces.

The following materials are available on OpenWHO.org in support of the Ebola response:

Ebola: Introduction This introductory or refresher pack on the disease is aimed at all response personnel. The presentation covers signs, symptoms and transmission of Ebola, preventive and control measures, as well as the main public health concerns during an outbreak, and is available in 4 languages: English, French, Lingala and Swahili.

Ebola: Knowledge resources for responders The knowledge resources for responders course contains an introductory module on Ebola virus disease, a module on building trust and engaging communities in Ebola outbreak response, and a knowledge pack – an interactive pdf linking to the most up-to-date key technical documents for the response.

ePROTECT – Occupational health and safety briefing The ePROTECT course provides the basic information one needs to protect personnel when deploying to countries with Ebola.

Ebola: GO pre-deployment training Ebola: GO 2.0 was developed in 2018 for WHO deployees to work safely and effectively as part of teams bringing Ebola outbreaks under control. The learning material is designed to complement the updated ePROTECT training.

Ebola: Clinical management of Ebola virus disease This course is based on the WHO Viral Haemorrhagic Fever pocket guide (February 2016) and adapted from materials developed by the WHO Emerging Diseases Clinical Assessment and Response Network (EDCARN) network. It provides practical information for clinicians providing direct care.

We are pleased to announce the French version of the combined course “Accelerating progress towards health-related SDGs - Short track” on OpenWHO. You can access the course through the following link: https://openwho.org/courses/ODD3-sante-bien-etre .

This course aims to provide an overview of key concepts, strategies and opportunities for effectively working with WHO Member states and non-state actors to achieve health-related SDG targets and Universal Health Coverage (UHC). It is a condensed version of the more extensive “Accelerating progress towards health-related SDGs”, which is available through iLearn. One of the main objectives of this course is to create a deeper understanding of why UHC and health security play essential roles in the SDG agenda and how WHO’s six lines of action can help accelerate its fulfilment until 2030.

Health, non-health professionals such as WHO staff, staff at Ministry of health, other relevant public and non-governmental organizations can benefit from this course, as they are in critical positions to support acceleration of health systems strengthening for UHC and the adoption of a “health in all policies” approach in order to leave no one behind. This course aims to support them in this role.

The course takes 2 hours to complete. A confirmation of participation is issued to those who have completed at least 50% of the course material.

An English version of the detailed course is also available on iLearn : https://who.csod.com/client/who/default.aspx

All personnel responding to Ebola outbreaks need to have basic knowledge and skills in order to mount an effective response. OpenWHO has developed an updated GO training package so WHO deployees can work safely and effectively as part of the teams bringing outbreaks under control.

You can access the course through the following link: https://openwho.org/courses/GO-en.

The learning package consists of 7 modules, which include video lectures and downloadable presentations that have been updated with the latest information and developments. It begins with an introduction to Ebola virus disease before moving to the response strategy and essential information related to working for WHO, including new modules on HR matters and emergency standard operating procedures.

This course will take approximately 3 hours to complete. A certificate of achievement will be provided to participants who score 80% or higher on each assessment.

The materials are designed to complement the ePROTECT training, which is available here: https://openwho.org/courses/e-protect.

Decision-makers and frontline responders can also find additional OpenWHO resources on Ebola virus disease in English, French and Lingala via the following link: https://openwho.org/courses/knowledge-resources-ebola.

The OpenWHO team wishes you an educational and successful training!

OpenWHO has published a comprehensive intermediate level course for clinicians caring for patients with suspected or confirmed Ebola virus disease (EVD): Clinical management of Ebola virus disease.

This short course provides information on screening and triage, infection prevention and control, laboratory diagnostics, organization of the Ebola Treatment Centre (ETC), clinical care of patients in the ETC, and investigational therapeutic agents. The modules include slides that present practical information and clinical knowledge that can be easily applied when caring for patients.

This course will take approximately 6 hours to complete.

We are pleased to announce the online course “Seasonal influenza: Clinical management of seasonal influenza” on OpenWHO. You can access the course through the following link: https://openwho.org/courses/seasonal-influenza-clinical-management

This short, intermediate-level course is for frontline health workers caring for patients with suspected or confirmed seasonal influenza infection. This can be used by clinicians working in any sector of the health care system, including health posts, primary care, and district and national level hospitals.

The modules include short video lectures and slides that present practical information and clinical knowledge that can be easily applied when caring for patients.

This course will take approximately 3 hours to complete.

We are pleased to announce the online course “Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever: Introduction” on OpenWHO. You can access the course through the following link: https://openwho.org/courses/crimean-congo-haemorrhagic-fever-introduction.

Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a widespread disease caused by a tick-borne virus that can result in severe viral haemorrhagic fever outbreaks, with case fatality rates of 10–40%. CCHF is endemic in Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East and Asian countries south of the 50th parallel north – the geographical limit of the principal tick vector.

This introductory course provides a general introduction to CCHF and is intended for frontline responders engaged in preventing and managing outbreaks.

It will take approximately 1 hour to complete.

Hoping to count you among the participants, the OpenWHO team wishes you a successful training!

As part of its mission to provide essential knowledge to emergency responders around the world, OpenWHO has developed a new series of courses supporting the work on Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (PIP).

Since OpenWHO’s launch last year, the Pandemic and epidemic-prone diseases course has proven extremely popular, with registration surpassing 3,600 participants from nearly 100 different countries. OpenWHO now also offers independent courses on specific diseases, including the different types of influenza threats:

• Avian and other zoonotic influenza: Introduction [EN] [FR],
• Pandemic influenza: Introduction [EN] [FR] and
• Seasonal influenza: Introduction [EN] [FR].

Recognizing the importance of surveillance and understanding the impacts of an influenza outbreak, OpenWHO has added new courses that provide responders and policy makers alike with helpful tools for developing strategies:

• Estimating the burden of seasonal influenza [EN],
• Influenza sentinel surveillance training [EN] and
• Pandemic Influenza Severity Assessment (PISA) [EN].

Improving risk communication capacities at all levels is an essential aspect of preparing for the potential of an influenza pandemic. That is why OpenWHO has dedicated several courses to this cross-cutting discipline:

• Communication Essentials for Member States [EN],
• Public health interventions in pandemics and epidemics [EN],
• Risk communication essentials [EN] and
• Risk communication for influenza events [EN/FR/SP].

OpenWHO’s growing course catalog has helped make WHO guidance on Pandemic Influenza Preparedness more accessible and actionable.

We are pleased to announce the online course “Cholera: Revised Cholera Kits and Cholera Kits calculation tool” on OpenWHO. You can access the course through the following link: https://openwho.org/courses/cholera-kits.

In 2016 WHO introduced the Cholera Kits. These kits replace the Interagency Diarrhoeal Disease Kit (IDDK) which had been used for many years. The Cholera Kits are designed to be flexible and adaptable for preparedness and outbreak response in different contexts.

This course is made up of two parts: a short introduction to the Cholera Kits and modules, and a demonstration of the Cholera Kit Calculation Tool that provides a quick and simple way to calculate needs for the new Cholera Kits and modules.

It will take approximately 1 hour to complete the entire course.

The information note, packing lists and the Kit Calculation Tool are all available from the WHO website at: http://www.who.int/cholera/kit/en/

Hoping to count you among the participants, the OpenWHO team wishes you a successful training!

WHO has supported the Rohingya crisis response in Cox's Bazar through various public health interventions. At the core of this work was clinical management of diphtheria. A number of training materials were developed for the response, including both online learning and face-to-face training.

In December 2017, the WHO Health Emergencies Programme launched an online learning for clinical staff on respiratory diphtheria through the OpenWHO.org platform. The 4-hour course targets clinicians caring for patients during outbreaks in vulnerable settings, such as in Cox's Bazar. It is also applicable to clinicians working in settings that share similar challenges, due to limitations of: laboratory capacity, availability of treatment facilities, number of trained staff, medications, medical supplies, and supportive care.

300 clinical experts took the course within the first month of its launch, with the majority of enrolments from Bangladesh, but also from India and Yemen. With the OpenWHO App, users can now view course content on a mobile device, with or without internet connection, once it has been downloaded: an important feature needed in vulnerable settings. Material is now being translated into Bahasa Indonesia and Arabic.

Course link: https://openwho.org/courses/diphtheria-clinical-management

We are pleased to announce the release of WHO first ever evidence-based guideline on Emergency Risk Communication.

During public health emergencies, people need to know what health risks they face, and what actions they can take to protect their lives, their health, their families and communities.The recommendations in this guideline provide overarching, evidence-based guidance on how risk communication should be practised in an emergency. The recommendations also guide countries on building capacity for communicating risk during health emergencies.

Read the guidelines here Join OpenWHO risk communication essentials course here WHO’s work in risk communication

We are pleased to announce the online course “Antimicrobial Stewardship: A competency-based approach” on OpenWHO. You can access the course through the following link: https://openwho.org/courses/AMR-competency

This course will provide a framework for approaching each clinical encounter from the perspective of combating antimicrobial resistance. Using case based examples the course will highlight how antimicrobial stewardship principles can be applied to common clinical scenarios. Modules A – E will review foundational clinical knowledge necessary to use antimicrobials wisely. Modules F – N will illustrate how clinicians can incorporate this knowledge into the management of patients with common infections through adherence to the five Core Competencies of appropriate antimicrobial prescribing. This course is meant to assist you in clinical practice and inspire you to be a champion of antimicrobial stewardship.

The course will take approximately 8 hours to finish. A confirmation of participation is issued to those who have completed at least 80% of the course material.

Hoping to count you among the participants, the OpenWHO team wishes you a successful training!

The 21st century poses new and persistent challenges in detecting and managing infectious hazards: severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), influenza and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) are examples that can be added to more recent health emergencies, such as Ebola or Zika. These outbreaks and epidemics have highlighted the need to systematically include social science-based interventions (SSI) in any health emergency response.

While medical anthropologists and social scientists have been part of outbreak response teams in the past, recent outbreaks underscored the fact that most social scientists are not systematically embedded into response operations and there is no framework to consider their inputs and advice to inform real-time decision-making by incident managers, emergency operations centre leads and others.

WHO has therefore established SocialNET, a network of social scientists with the required qualifications and operational experiences to work in epidemics, pandemics and other health emergencies.

There are currently 24 social scientists trained and available to be deployed to countries in need for support in preparedness and response to health emergencies.

The SocialNET network is composed of a pool of social scientists trained to work as part of the health operations in the field, in close collaboration with key stakeholders, including focal persons for community engagement, risk communication and public communication.

They are ready to deploy to countries during non-emergency periods to help build capacity for integrating social science-based approaches and interventions for emergency response, build up baseline social and cultural data that relate to known risky behaviours, and mitigate health risks.

All social scientists within the pool have underwent an intense WHO training on how to work in health emergencies. The training consisted of three parts: 1) An online course on OpenWHO, a WHO training platform for health emergencies; 2) A face-to-face classroom discussions and exercises; and 3) A face-to-face simulation exercise to put theory into practice.

We are pleased to announce the online course “Incident Management System” on OpenWHO, now both in English and in French. You can access the English version of the course through the following link: https://openwho.org/courses/incident-management-system

First tier of a series of training developed by the WHO's Health Emergencies Programme (WHE), this course aims at strengthening WHO staff competencies, skills and knowledge to enhance WHE’s deployment and response capability. It includes four animated modules covering an introduction to emergency management, WHO’s role in emergencies, the emergency response framework and the incident management system. You will have the opportunity to participate on the course discussion board, share experiences and gain insights from other experts working in this field.

This first tier corresponds with the mandatory minimum package that all personnel being deployed on a WHO health emergency response must complete. Any organization or person external to WHO that will be deployed in response to a health emergency is encouraged to participate.

The course takes approximately 3 hours to complete. A certificate will be issued upon completion of the course material.

Hoping to count you among the participants, the OpenWHO team whished you a successful training!

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C’est avec un grand plaisir que nous vous annonçons le cours en ligne « Système de gestion des incidents » sur OpenWHO en français. Vous pouvez accéder au cours via le lien suivant: https://openwho.org/courses/systeme-de-gestion-des-incidents/

Premier d’une série de cours développée par le Programme d'urgence de l'Organisation mondiale de la santé (WHE), ce cours a pour objectif de renforcer les compétences et les connaissances du personnel de l'OMS pour le déploiement et les interventions d'urgence. Ce cours comporte quatre modules animés couvrant une introduction à la gestion des urgences, le rôle de l’OMS dans les urgences, le cadre d’intervention d’urgence et le système de gestion des incidents. Vous aurez l’opportunité de participer à un forum de discussion pour partager vos expériences et échanger des idées avec d'autres experts travaillant dans ce domaine.

Toute personne déployée sur une réponse d'urgence sanitaire de l'OMS doit compléter ce cours. Les organisations et personnes externes à l’OMS déployées sur une réponse à une urgence sanitaire sont également encouragées à participer.

Le cours dure environ 3 heures. Un certificat sera délivré en fin de formation.

En espérant vous compter parmi les participants, l’équipe OpenWHO vous souhaite un bon apprentissage!

More than 100 WHO staff members and partners from all three levels of the organization are taking part in knowledge exchange and team building initiative “Managing epidemics of the 21st century”. This three-phase, WHO-certified learning programme helps shape the work for the future generations of participants and frontline responders in health emergencies.

The initiative is part of WHO's reforms to improve its work in health emergencies to meet expectations from governments, partners, stakeholders, donors and decision-makers for technical excellence and sound public health advice and actions. Three phases of the learning programme include:

· on-line preparation on OpenWHO.org platform in February-March 2017

· face-to-face workshop in Dakar, Senegal, 21-23 March 2017

· follow up with monthly on-line briefings during May-November 2017

Stronger collaboration with partners

The face-to-face workshop on 21-23 March 2017 in Dakar, Senegal brought together 125 participants from 45 African countries, including WHO staff and donors, such as CDC, UNICEF, IFRC, the World Bank, ECHO and USAID to maximize expertise-sharing, build-up of competences, and common approaches through interactive exercises.

“Recent experience has highlighted that major epidemics in the 21st century highlight the need for a system to quickly transform scientific knowledge into action on the ground," said Dr Gaya Gamhewage, Manager of Interventions and Guidance team at WHO. "Knowledge that is understandable and actionable is essential to mounting an effective response to save lives, minimize illness, and prevent unnecessary damage to societies and economies."

“It is essential that our experts, staff, and teams have the latest science and knowledge to work with colleagues across the Organization to deal with disease outbreaks effectively and efficiently. AFRO Member States, and those beyond the region, depend on us to quickly identify infectious hazards, detect outbreaks and launch fast, effective responses.”

Workshop produced a set of recommendations and key actions to be taken in different levels of the organization and listed the areas to be further explored in the learning programme.

Participants will continue to use WHO's new learning platform OpenWHO to follow new learning courses, discussions, and briefings related to health emergencies.