UGANDA – The Ministry of Health in Uganda, World Health Organization (WHO) and United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have partnered to conduct capacity building in public health emergency management.

The main objective of the training activities is to provide Uganda with the resources, guidance and support needed to implement a sustainable plan to build the capacity of Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) to effectively respond to all public health outbreaks at the national and sub-national levels.

In addition, the trained National Trainers (ToTs) will be equipped with skills and advanced knowledge to conduct and build the capacity of Rapid Response Teams at the national and subnational levels to effectively and efficiently respond to Public Health Emergencies

The Ministry of Health, WHO and CDC teamed up to develop and deliver the two-week training to over 70 emergency responders including managers, national trainers and rapid response teams at the Nile Village Hotel in Jinja.

The training focused on rapid deployment and operational response to public health emergencies was funded by the Ministry of Health in France, through World Health Organization (WHO), as part of the WHO’s initiative known as the Rapid Response Teams Training Implementation Package (RRT TIP).

On August 17 and 18, Uganda will adopt all learning materials in the Rapid Response Teams Training Implementation Package to suit subnational Rapid Response Teams for future in-country training.

Dr. Moses Ebong, Principal Medical Officer, Department of Integrated Epidemiology, Surveillance and Public Health Emergencies Division, MoH Uganda

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Uganda is the first country among WHO member states to implement the Rapid Response Team training package which involves learning resources developed from a global standard perspective by WHO to be adopted by the Member States in country context to meet their specific needs, WHO reports.

The ultimate goal of this RRT TIP pilot was to provide the country with the resources, guidance, and support needed to implement a sustainable plan to build the capacity of Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) to effectively respond to all public health outbreaks at the national and sub-national levels.

Additionally, CDC will continue working closely with the Ministry of Health in Uganda and the World Health Organization to ensure sustainable training plans are in place and surge teams are trained for rapid response teams.

Uganda’s Minister of Health Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng Ocero stressed that the establishment of trained Rapid Response Teams (RRTs), readily available for deployment and response in emergencies is critical in addressing the country’s public health and emergency problems.

Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng Ocero acknowledged the timely and critical support from the World Health Organization and United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in building capacity of Uganda’s Rapid Response Teams.

Through the Advanced training for Emergency Responders, the beneficiaries will be able to respond appropriately to public Health emergencies at any time,” noted Dr. Yonas Tegegn Woldemariam, the WHO Representative to Uganda.

Moreover, building capacity for multidisciplinary teams at all levels is critical for immediate effective and efficient response to avoid devastating impacts of disease outbreaks at a time when Uganda faces a multitude of infectious disease outbreaks across the country every year.

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