The Government of Punjab was grappling hard with the most serious dengue fever epidemic which erupted enormously in various cities of the Punjab, primarily in Lahore. The dengue outbreak in the Punjab took a serious toll. In this very context, the PRMP was directed to get tailor–made training / capacity development courses designed under its time–tested partnership with the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Bangkok, Thailand. AIT came up with a professional training course "Dengue Epidemic Prevention, Control and Management (DEPCAM)” which was held in Thailand/Sri Lanka from 5th-24th December 2011.
The DEPCAM training course was successfully conducted by Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) simultaneously in Thailand and Sri Lanka. A total of 115 participants selected purely on merit by the competent authorities were imparted training on Dengue Control and Management. The operational level cohort group comprised of 17 doctors from government health care centers, 12 doctors from private health care units, 14 nurses, 01 blood- lab technician, 02 environmentalists, 12 vector control managers, 06 lady health supervisors, 06 officers of local government, 04 health managers, 10 professional entomologists, 03 officers of DGHS, 01 horticulturist (PHA), 04 entomologists of agriculture universities, 01 officer of fisheries, 01 health education officer. Almost one fourth of the group comprised of females. A Policy makers group comprising another 21 including public representatives, senior medical professors, senior public servants, media anchors and religious scholars etc. also visited Thailand for one week and went through a condensed version of DEPCAM. The policy level group consisted of 02 MPAs, 01 MNA, 07 civil servants, 02 professor doctors, 02 consultants, 01 representative of NGO, 01 religious scholar, 03 local government officers and 02 media representatives.
The participants of DEPCAM successfully completed the said training course and have now returned to Pakistan. PMU, PRMP, also arranged a Debriefing Session on DEPCAM on dated 14 January 2012 to understand the key learning points and to consider areas and suggestions for improvement in the said training course with the objective to have best value for the money of Government of Punjab. The participants attended the debriefing session and shared their rich experiences.
Now when all the participants of DEPCAM had returned to the country, it was considered appropriate to obtain the dividends of the investment made on these participants and make best use of them by employing their experiences and research in the province of Punjab in the best of manners to control and manage Dengue fever.
In this regard, PRMP identified some core ‘Master Trainers’ from all the participants who were later utilized by the Health and other departments of Government of Punjab for further trainings and future research to combat this epidemic in most efficient manner. In the follow up, PRMP designed customized training modules in consultation with these ‘Master Trainers’ on the basis of DEPCAM course. These courses were then taught by the ‘Master Trainers’ to a variety of officials/officers of Government of Punjab in training sessions held at different places which included provincial departments, MPDD, Schools and Colleges etc. In these training sessions around 1400 officials/officers of Government of Punjab were imparted training on Dengue control and management. View Gallery...
De-briefing Session |
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Dr. Somia Iqtadar (DEPCAM-AIT) Senior Registrar Medicine Clinical Management Group KEMU/Mayo Hospital Lahore. View Presentation |
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Mr. Mehmood Masood Tammana (DEPCAM-AIT) Tehsil Muncipal Officer TMA, Sheikhupura. View Presentation |
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Ms. Sadia Rehman (DEPCAM-AIT) Entomologist EDO Health Office, Rawalpindi. View Presentation |
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Ms. Tahira Mariam (DEPCAM-AIT) Education Officer EDO Health Office Lahore. View Presentation |
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