Kolkata: Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) to offer virtual training of community health workers for prevention and control of Coronavirus and management of basic healthcare.
The training kicked off on Monday after official launch by Atin Ghosh, Member Board of Administrators Kolkata Municipal Corporation who is in charge of the Health department.
The training—done in collaboration with a not for profit trust— will be provided through a hub and spoke model with each of the eight spoke sites involving health workers from two boroughs under KMC.
The urban primary health centre (UPHC) located at ward 46 has been identified as the hub while UPHCs at ward 11, 25, 57, 73,104, 108, 131 and 55 will be spokes.
Around 500-600 community health workers are expected to get training using the online platform of e–mentoring on Covid and basic healthcare service that includes non communicable diseases, communicable diseases, paediatrics care, geriatric care, infant nutrition etc.
"The Asha workers have been instrumental in fighting Covid and ensuring awareness among the community about maintaining precautions by going door to door. The training facilitated by ECHO India will be very helpful to keep them informed on the recent advancement and new initiatives along with basic healthcare services," Ghosh said.
He proposed the inclusion of vector control in the training module and it was readily accepted by ECHO.
There will be 10 sessions with two training programmes every month and the target is to complete the same within 5 months.
Kolkata is the first place in India where this training will be imparted and it will be followed by similar training modules in Chennai, Shimla and Gangtok. Two health officers in each of the 16 boroughs who have already received training will act as master trainers.