The World Health Organization (WHO) is to strengthen the capacity of healthcare workers to deliver integrated disease prevention messages in Yobe.

Dr Richard Lako, the Emergency Manager, WHO Health Emergencies Programme, Northeast Nigeria disclosed this during a two-day capacity building organized for community health workers on Monday in Damaturu.

He said the gesture was part of an effort to minimize community transmission of COVID-19 in the state.

Lako said the WHO is working closely with the Yobe government to strengthen the capacity of the community health champions to deliver integrated disease prevention messages.

“The WHO will continue to work with Yobe Ministry of Health to strengthen COVID-19 control efforts across the state.

“In furtherance of that effort, we have trained and deployed teams of volunteers, that is the community health champions across the state.”

“Apart from, we have also supplied commodities and Personal Protective Equipment to ensure that hospitals in the state are fully equipped to provide infection prevention and control,” he said.

The manager added that the WHO also donated infection prevention and control equipment, which includes, hand washing, hand sanitizers, hand gloves, medicated soap, aprons.

Other items according to him are safety boots, face masks, and shields to boost risk communication activities and to scale up preparedness for other disease outbreaks.

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Some of the Community Health Champions, who participated had expressed satisfaction and impact of the training.

A health worker, Mrs. Amina Mohammed, said:” with this capacity building, we will step down the skills and knowledge we have acquired to the communities we are posted to carry out the sensitization” she said.

Another health worker, Mrs. Maryamu Mohammed, also said the training will assist them to carry out effective sensitization to communities on how best to improve on hygiene practice during the COVID-19 pandemic