WHO and Robert Koch Institute pilots the Training for Health Emergency Operations Centres (ProTECt) in the Maldives

Maldives finalized the Health Emergency Operations Plan (HEOP) in 2019. The COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020 presented an opportunity for the HEOP to be implemented as a full exercise across the nation for the very first time. Though the plan was detailed and comprehensive, the field-level experience from the COVID-19 pandemic had identified real life situations, challenges and areas that needed more capacity building.

The ProTECt training from Robert Kotch Institute was planned to be implemented in a phased-out approach, with the five-day training focused on the central level HEOC Staff with participation from Health Protection Agency, Ministry of Health and different stakeholders and clusters from HEOC. The second phase of the training will be focused on the atoll and island levels. In this regard, WHO in partnership with RKI will ensure that the training materials are tailored and customized to each individual atoll and island, based on the findings and feedback from the central level training.

All participants and facilitators actively contributed to all the sessions, and the exercise concluded with a roadmap of trainings planned on the targeted areas. In recognition of their support, certificates were awarded to all participants and facilitators by Dr Shah Mahir, Minister of State of Ministry of Health

“The training and inputs shared by the trainers and participants will help us improve but also understand the bottlenecks that are faced in the field, which can be adapted to expand to atoll and island levels too.” said Dr Nazneen Anwar, WHO Representative, “WHO will continue to enhance partnerships with centers of excellence such as the Robert Koch Institute to ensure the best opportunities are provided for Maldives.