By Rose Wood, SOM International Coordinator
A core part of this new partnership is delivering training that equips Health and Safety Officers (HSOs) in Public Health facilities across four regions in Ethiopia with essential skills and knowledge in Occupational Health and Safety (OHS). Two of the four planned training programmes have now occurred in both the Sidama and West Oromia region.
Building on World Health Organization (WHO) expertise, a curriculum has been developed by lead partner, Dr Samson Wakuma, Associate Professor of Public Health, along with his team at the School of Public Health, University of Addis Ababa. Training aims to strengthen the overall culture within health facilities, fostering a safer working environment for healthcare professionals. Topics covered include:
- Introduction to Occupational Health and Safety
- Biological, Physical, Ergonomic, Chemical and Psychological Hazards in the workplace
- Radiation exposure
- Health and Safety Management
- Environmental Hazards in Healthcare Facilities
The five-day training includes pre- and post-tests to assess the level of knowledge gained by participants from the training. There was significant improvement in OHS knowledge amongst participants where training took place. We were also pleased to have met target training numbers - with 40 HSOs joining each programme. Selection of participants was guided to ensure female engagement and a range of professional backgrounds were represented.
Government support is critical, and a memorandum of understanding has been signed with the Ministry of Health. Officials from Regional Health Bureaus also offered closing remarks and attended Certification Ceremonies.
Project sustainability is a key focus – using a ‘train the trainer approach’ where the participants take what they have learnt back to their healthcare facilities. HSOs have joined from over seventy facilities across four regions, so the impact of this project should be significant. An online group has been created where training materials, documents and articles related to OHS can be shared. Trainees use it to share their experiences and challenges in the workplace, as well as to ask questions to trainers and colleagues. Additionally, they have been providing examples of their ‘learning in action’ from developing OHS policies, cleaning water tanks, and leading their own training sessions with staff in their respective healthcare facilities.
We are excited for the next two training sessions, due to take place next month, in Central Oromia region and Addis Ababa. Dr Shriti Pattani, NHS England Clinical Expert in Occupational Health and Wellbeing will visit the project in December, along with a student from the University of Nottingham in Ghana. Sharing of learnings from training programmes can help develop occupational health not just in Ethiopia, but in the wider region.
The project receives funding through the Global Health Workforce Programme (GHWP), managed by Global Health Partnerships (GHP), and funded by the UK Department of Health and Social Care. GHWP supports Health Partnerships between the UK and Ethiopia, Malawi, and Somaliland to address nationally and locally identified health workforce priorities and challenges. Health Partnership projects aim to strengthen the health workforce to build resilient health systems capable of addressing the diverse health needs of their populations, to ensure optimal health outcomes for all and advance progress towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
For further information regarding the project, please contact me at rose.wood@som.org.uk
Pictured below: Dr Samson Wakuma, training in Sidama; Dr Samson Wakuma, certificate ceremony in West Oromia.