Training policy

WOR,LD HEALTH ORGANIZATION O};Ci{OCIf,ICIASIS CONTROT PROGA}I,M IN rIItr VOLTA RIYEA. BASIII A-REA ORGANISATION MONDIALE DE LA SANTE Nocg.2 oD.IGIi'iA L : Filr.liic1I \IATIOIIAL'NCIIOCMCIASIS CO}TIITTMS Ninth meetingMles.5 IT1AINING POLICY 1. ]}TIRODUCTION 2. TMMS OI' IiEi'MXNCE 1. .tLU'IElmS 0!' ft{-E POLfCY 1.4. Places where t::aining will be given 4, PIANMNG 1.1 1.2 1.1 . Priority disciplines . Cond.iti-ons for the arvard. of fellolships . fVp"s of train-ing 1.1.1, Conventional training 1.1,2. Contj-nuous f,raining and. field training 1. _In-tli.@lrqti_o-e From the ver.r outset training' has alwa,ys been a. concern of the Onchocercia,sis Control ,.q'ograi.ner a.walle as it is th'at for a large nart success can be actrieved- on\r th::ough staff who have been tra'i-ned- for clearly d.efineC. taslcs. ft is for thc.t reason that felloviships have been awarrleci for eonventional an1tf or field- t::aining. Gver the years tlre neecl to d.efine a training policSr has come to be felt both alnong: the hogra;:rnets sta,tu.tory bocl,ies and among'rihe vartous commissions. Mar5r recormend-ations have been made, but it seems importa'nt to recal-} the one contained. in the fira,l relrort (August 198f.) of the Ind.epend-ent Corrnission (n zr), trln ord,er the.t training and career d.evelopment are given a,deQue,te attention a.t OCP and in the countries, we uecomrnend- that a special unit should be established. witlein OCP. It should. be responsible for staff d-evelopment in tite Progamne, and a'ssist the trnrticilnting goverirnents in d.eveloping bhe careells of natioi-rals trainecl unc'.er OCP auspiccs...'' The ,,Proposa.,I fcn: a long terrn stratery" docurnent (.f1C5.7-OCP/84.4) states: rthrith the ircreasir6 enphasis on d.evolution and th.e importa,nt rore vrhich the Pro6p'a:nrne can be e:;?ec';ec- to p1a;r i-n enhancir€ and reinf orcing hea. 1d.i ca,i:e systeils in the Partici:r.ating: Corrntries as 1r,rt of overal-I socioecononic a,nci rural cieveloprnent, a broad.ening of -bile scope of 0C? training rrilI be cal-Ied. f o::. ' 2. -TeryE+S{ -I!e-{er-qncg ft r,ra.s following these recoi:raenCations thct the Ina,nageinellt of tl:e hogramme pncLertook to prepare a cioct-t-rent on training policy closely related to clevolution, since p:re1-n,-'ations for devolr-rticn a.lle alread-;'' in progress a,nc1 wiII cover OCPts phase III and be;rond. IIf this policy j.s to be viable and acceptable, it rnust be based' on information gathered from the beneficiaries and the users' lleetings were therefore held- with: - tJ:e OCP chiefs of urrit; - the ad.nr-inistrative authorities and. technicians of the Participating Countries an4 those of the countries of the ','Iestern Extension (Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Senegal and Sj-erra fuone)' 1 . -Ufemeqts--9| -!1e39-!igi It emerges clearly from the discussions that ocPrs po]-icy is and nmst be closely reLe.tecl to devolution and that its objective is to nake availabl-e to the Participating countries managerial and field. staff capa"ble, on the one hand, of taking over and., on the other hand., of i'rorki-ng together with OCP in the execution of the erploratory and preln'ratory phases of its operations. 1 .1. h-iqribr d-i;;ciPlinSs AII the missions and. surrreys cagied- orrt in the Participating Countries bear r^ritness to a manifest lack of qualified person]]el. ft is clear that the d.evolution process cannot be launched rrnd'er these conditions rrnless emphasis is prit on the sensitive d-isciplines d'irectly related to the hogramme ts activities, i*e. s Entomology Eydrobiologlr Epid.eur-io1ory Parasitolog}, Qrhthalnolory - Health economics The objectiye of tire kogramme is to eliminate onchocerciasis as a d.isease of plblic-hea]th and socioeconomic importance. OCP is, holrever, not losing sight of eitl:er the other cormr.trricable endemic and epid'emic d,j-seases rag5.ne: in the ar"a (trypanosomiasj-s, dra,cunculiasis, ye11ow fever , ma)a.rLa, schistosoniasis, trachoma, leprosy, men-lngitis, etc') oI the other discil:lines <Lirectly cr ind.irectly related' to health (sanitation' nutrition, health education, statistics, agriculture, water resou-rce management and. forestry, renelrable energies, sociolog1r I npnaSement, research, etc.), but prud.ence and. wisdom dernand tha,t train-ing in these 7trperipheral activj-t.iesrr be entrrrsted. to and financecl by the \/II0 Regione.l gffice in Brazzaville (elnO), the other specialized, institutions of tire United. Nations system (nl.O, UliDPe UNi!SCO) or bilateral aid. 1.2. .@!it+q31g f,o- If the Participating Countries are to d.erive maxinum benefit ancl guarantee frcm the traini:.rg, certaj-n conditions must be met: - Cand.id.ates should. be selected from among people with at least two yearst service in the Civil Service of their country of origin: - fhe Governnents should. undertake to make judiciors use of their nationals once they have been trained (re-installation, guara,ntee of employment); - Tlie training shoulcl match the need.s of the jobi 0CP/1'ffI0 should participate in the selection of candida,tes. 1 .3 . -&Pgs*gl"-!:lq+*4l49 It is worth recalling the three leve1s for rvhich fellowships are award.ed-: - Level I is for cand.id.ates who alread.y have a university degree and- are aining at specialisation (nf'nO is responsible for placementi duration: 12 to J5 months); Level II is for candi-d.ates who have already und.ergone specj-aIized. trairr-ing; ancl vrould. like to stud,y more particularly the aspects of the:-r speciality as they appeetr in the Programrne a.:c", (d.,.rration: 1 to )2 months); I,evel fII is for med.ical officers and technicians trho wou1d. like to famlliarl.ze thensel-ves with the Programlers method-o1ory (dr:ration: { to 6 months). 477i) .) . !. Conventior:al this 1s alread.y bein6; offered. to senior officers and. bechn-lcians in the d.ifferent fac.,.lties and tra-ining institutes with a view to establishing na.tional teans. It should. be supplemented. by period.s of practical training in OCPrs sectors and sub-sectors. Tiris will contribute not onllr f,6 traineest acquiring and improving their s]<ills, but al-so to establishing cl-ose cooperation betrveen the trainers (Insti.tutes) and thc uscrs (fart-icipating Countries and 0CP). 1.1.2. Continuous traj-ning and. field-tr-aiqi-rlg This type of training. rrhich is so much desired. by the Pa::ticipating Co'ugtries, r+il1 be offcred. in the form of refreshcr courscs, trorkshops, practical training, anrl- bricfing and consultative meetings. OCPts r:r:.its havc a major role to play and. must henceforth i'rork together with the national tcans in siml'rIe and detailed. epid.erniological evaluations. 1 .4. Slaq-ur--yL"-r"^-eq@ To enable the fell-ol,iship hold-ers to st-ud.y und.er bette:: conditionst it is advisable that tlie pia.ces whcie training is to be given should preferably be situa.tecl in the African Region and. f or that reason a 1j-st is given below containing a certain number of faculties and institutes: Faculty of Med.icine, A516;on - Faculty of MecLicine, Dakar Natiorral liec-'l-ical Schoof r llamako - Un-iversity Centre f o:: Training in Med.ical and Veterina.ry Entornology, Bouak6 - tbypanoscrniasis ancl Onchocerciasis Research lnstltute, Bouak6 - Iriuraz Centre, Bobo-,Dioulasso African tropical Ophtha"lrnologl' Institute, Barnako CRST0,I Hydrobiolog). Laboratory, Ba.mako Enqu-i-ries are being macl-c among institutes in the English-speahing co'untries (IaSo", fba,Can, Jos, Institute 6f Aqr:atic Bio1ory in Achimota) and Portuguese-speal<ing countries . -5- Institutes in Eu:ope and America will- continue to offer traiaing in d.isciplines not catered- for in Africa. Practical trair:-ing vril1 be offered. not only in the institutes, but also and above all in the Pro,gramme sectors and sub-sectors. 4. Plann:ing It goes without saying t;:at a planniqg is essential. It r,,ri1l reqr",.i-re continuous and,. sr.ls';aineci consultetions thror:ghout the d.evolution phase so that corrective measures need,ed can be ta,ken"