Training manuals for health workers out of date
Manuals for training Nigeria’s health workers in life-saving skills are declared outdated after it came under review on Monday in Abuja. Until now the life-saving skills manuals lacked World Health Organisation’s most current standards and protocols in pregnancy, childbirth, after-birth and newborn care. A review of the manuals—jointly by the federal health ministry and Plan […]
File photo: Community health extension workers look after a child sick with malaria in Gaye, Kuje
Manuals for training Nigeria’s health workers in life-saving skills are declared outdated after it came under review on Monday in Abuja.
Until now the life-saving skills manuals lacked World Health Organisation’s most current standards and protocols in pregnancy, childbirth, after-birth and newborn care.
A review of the manuals—jointly by the federal health ministry and Plan International—will expand sections related to baby care and introduce new guidelines in antenatal care, according to Oladapo Olayemi, a professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at University of Ibadan, and one of the consultants reviewing the manuals from July 17 to 21 in Abuja.
“Some documents did not exist before. We had to create them. The teaching materials and slides are standardized so that everybody is taught using the same materials,” said Olayemi.
The materials will be used in training of different cadres of health care providers from doctors and nurses to health extension workers and health officers.
“Things have changed. We have to update them to where things are now, what the current thinking, teaching, practice is,” said Olayemi. “The scope is enormous. We hope some these documents get adopted by Africa.”
Among the updates is new protocol for managing pregnancy complications as well as an increase in number of focus antenatal visits from four to eight during pregnancy, said Ugo Okoli, deputy country director at Jhipego.
Aaliya Bibi, health advisor for Plan International Canada, said renowned obstetricians and gynaecologists, neonatologists, paediatricians and nurses are involved in the review and update.
“The most encouraging part is that all the hard work…is a vital part of making sure that the health workers across Nigeria have the best tools and resources available for training, thus helping to ensure high-quality care for mothers, newborn and children,” said Bibi.