The two-week US capacity training for public health professionals, which aimed to prepare Nigerian experts for public health emergencies, came to a close in Lagos over the weekend.
The professional certification program was delivered in collaboration by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US-CDC), the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), and Georgetown University.
The Consul General, who addressed at the conclusion and graduation ceremony on Friday, emphasized the strategic relationship between the United States and Nigeria in enhancing health security and disease response.
About 40 participants drawn from the NCDC, state-level ministries of health, Nigeria Port Health Services, and the Nigerian military were certified in the first cohort of the intermediate-level Public Health Emergency Management Professional Certification Program (PHEM PC) adapted from the US-CDC was delivered by Georgetown University, a leader in Public Health Emergency Management training.
As Nigeria works to meet the 2024 Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) targets and meet the International Health Regulations (IHR) requirements by strengthening workforce development, disease surveillance, emergency response, and laboratory cap, the US Consul General, Claire Pierangelo, emphasized her government’s commitment and prioritization of Public Health Emergency Management.
she said “The US Government is committed to promoting the health and wellbeing of Nigerians through initiatives and training that increase disease prevention, detection, and response”.
The PHEM PC Program equipped emergency managers, incident managers, state epidemiologists, first responders, watch managers, and other public health experts with specialized training in crisis and emergency risk communication, public health emergency management functions, and operations. The knowledge, competencies, and skill set taught in the course will help officials coordinate public health emergencies.
In 2019, Nigeria became a GHSA partner country committed to achieving GHSA 2024 targets and IHR requirements. The PHEM training is part of the U.S. Government’s efforts to support pandemic preparedness in Nigeria and globally.
