Submitted by Dr Charles Akataobi, Field Epidemiologist (Training Focal Person)
Sequel to the phase 1 National Vaccine Management Training (NVMT) of Trainers held between April 1-3, 2019 in Abuja, the NVMT State level cascade training kicked off on the 8th of April 2019. It was held in the 11 NSTOP supported states in the North-eastern and North western regions of the country with technical and funding support from NSTOP.
During the 3-day state level training, 1308 participants from Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara states were trained by 287 facilitators from Government and partners’ staff at National and state levels. The training was a welcome development and received an overwhelming acceptance and support from the states and partners. All stakeholders acknowledged the significance and timeliness of the training in addressing vaccine accountability issues and preventing stock of vaccines.
Participants present at the training were LIOs, RIOs, CCOs, AFENET NSLOs, WHO LGAF and UNICEF SMCs. The training covered the essential concepts of vaccine security, vaccine forecasting and accountability, waste management, data management, DHIS 2, impact of health care workers’ attitude vaccine accountability, vaccine quality assurance, vaccine stock management amongst others.
All
the didactic sessions were supported by robust practical sessions in the form
of group discussions, quizzes and case studies. In addition, field visits were
carried out by participants to State and LGA cold stores as well as health
facilities to assess the vaccine accountability framework. Testimonials from
participants indicated that the training achieved its objective.