WHO-supported entomology studies focus on understanding disease vectors in South-East Asia. ©Y. Srinivas Murty, Vector Control Research CentreA well-trained workforce is essential for reaching universal health coverage.
WHO supports training across the globe and across the professional spectrum.This week we visit Samoa, where emergency medical teams are rehearsing for cyclone season; India, where trainees are learning to stop disease-carrying pests; and Malaysia, where health workers are gaining the skills to care for patients living with dementia.Read on for those stories, along with reports of capacity building in Ethiopia, Haiti, Mauritania, Palestine and Zimbabwe.Samoa hones its disaster-response skillsThe team carries out a training exercise. ©WHO/Erin NosteThe Samoa Emergency Medical Team responded to a fictional cyclone scenario in November to cap off five days of training supported by WHO and the Australia and New Zealand governments.The group rehearsed setting up and operating mobile clinics for a mass-casualty event.“Trained medical responders who can reach affected populations quickly are extremely important in the effort to save lives during emergencies,” said Dr Kim Eva Dickson, WHO Head of Office in Samoa.
Read moreWATCH THE VIDEO: In Samoa, medical emergency teams start their trainingMauritania’s new emergency-response teams clear their first hurdleFloods in Nouakchott (above) coincided with an outbreak of Rift Valley fever. ©WHOWHO’s Regional Office for Africa has helped train Mauritania’s new emergency-response teams to quickly locate and stop disease outbreaks before they can become epidemics.Since August 2022, the teams have responded to eight emergencies, and in one case, headed off an outbreak of