IOM Trains Health Workers in Ebola Surveillance
From 9 to 10 January 2019, IOM Uganda, in partnership with the Ministry of Health (MoH) and with support from the World Health Organization Uganda, organized a training on Ebola Viral Disease (EVD) screening at Vurra border post, in the northwestern district of Arua.
Vurra is located at the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which has been battling an Ebola outbteak since August 2018
The training followed a request from Arua District Local Government for support in Ebola surveillance, in case of increased movement of people from DRC during the present election cycle..
At least 13 health workers and members of Village Health Team (VHT) from Arua district have been trained to conduct Ebola screening. The trainees will then constitute a pool of screeners that the district can call on when needed. The objective of the training was to enhance the capacities of the border staff to detect and report suspected cases of Ebola.
IOM Chief Nurse Ursula Eyer and Judith Komuhendo from the Ministry of Health supported by Victoria Kajja, IOM Migration and Health Promotion Coordinator, trained the health workers on EVD screening, EVD prevention and control and more specifically on the EVD screening, isolation and referral procedures at PoE, the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and data collection at the point of entry.
The two trainers Judith Komuhendo from Ministry of Health and Urdula Eyer from IOM.
Additionally, IOM will hand over Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), screening and reporting materials and hand-washing equipment to Arua District.
IOM meeting with the Acting district Health officer for Arua, Paul Bishop Drileba.
The training was part of IOM efforts to support Uganda Government’s plan for preparedness and surveillance against a potential spread of EVD in the country, following the 9th EVD outbreak in the DR Congo. Since the beginning of the outbreak, IOM has established 10 flow monitoring points in key districts bordering DRC and South Sudan, has trained 45 immigration, district and Office of the Prime Minster officials from Kisoro, Bundibugyo, Ntoroko, Hoima and Goli on Health, Border & Mobility Management (HBMM) and has been conducting 21-day surveillance of refugees confirmed for resettlement; more than 1,100 cases have been completed with ongoing monitoring of more than 300 cases every day.