Stories from the field – North Macedonia

NORTH MACEDONIA | Equipping health care workers with knowledge and skills for an effective COVID-19 pandemic response

14 June 2021

As the backbone of health systems, the health care workforce continues to play a vital role in the COVID-19 pandemic. While the crisis unfolds, equipping frontline workers with the knowledge they need is key to a successful pandemic response, ensuring quality care for patients and saving lives.

To provide new opportunities for professional learning for COVID-19, WHO in North Macedonia has adapted 14 specialized OpenWHO training modules about COVID-19 to the Macedonian and Albanian languages. The courses cover various aspects of the COVID-19 response, including preventing transmission of infectious agents, correct use of personal protective equipment (PPE), prevention of contamination in the clinic of cloth, skin and environment, administrative preventive measures and other topics.

“All personnel responding to the COVID-19 outbreak need to have the knowledge and skills to mount an effective response. We support health care workers by providing critical information they need to keep themselves and others safe during the COVID-19 pandemic”, says Dr Jihane Tawilah, WHO Representative to North Macedonia.

To promote the available courses, WHO in North Macedonia has partnered with the Ministry of Health. All courses can be accessed through the Ministry of Health e-health platform and are officially accredited course by the Macedonian Medical Chamber. Over 3000 health care workers have completed the courses thus far, acquiring the knowledge they need to better contain this and future disease outbreaks and manage health emergencies in general.

“OpenWHO courses are an excellent opportunity for timely transfer of life-saving knowledge to large numbers of health workers. They must be prepared to effectively meet the demands of their roles, especially as we learn more about the virus, new COVID-19 vaccines become available and vaccine recommendations evolve”, Dr Tawilah adds.

WHO will continue to support an informed and educated health workforce to provide the best health services in North Macedonia and populations worldwide. To find free courses in your language and start learning, click here.

Photo: WHO North Macedonia

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This page was last changed at Tue, 13 Jul 2021 17:35:59 +0000.