WHO Academy offers virtual course on acute respiratory infection - World Health Organization

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and influenza epidemics, there is increasingly a more intense and broader focus on acute respiratory infection (ARI) programme development, its strengthening and sustainability.

In this context, the WHO Academy virtual training programme focuses on enhancing national capacities to prepare for, prevent, and control ARIs through specially developed courses by a team of WHO focal points from the headquarters, regional offices, and country offices. The course was conducted on a   pilot mode.

Key objectives of the course were

• To enhance participants' knowledge, understanding and familiarity with ARI preparedness, prevention and control tools, processes, and resources; and
• To develop national champions who can advocate for enhanced ARI preparedness and response.

As part of the pilot project, it was proposed to include 1-2 Country Office focal points and 2-3 Ministry focal points to participate in the pilot. By training key WHO Country Office and Ministry staff together, the paired participant approach enabled co-develop, adapt and/or update the national strategy, creating a robust platform for future cooperation on ARI preparedness and response in their countries.

The academy course used an interactive e-learning platform with recordings, required reading materials and live webinar sessions. It had four modules with self-study components and live sessions of 1-2 hours each where participants had provided updates on their progress, asking questions and receiving support. The programme spanned around four hours a week for 10 weeks (approximately 40 hours in total).

There were four modules of the academy programme which guided participants to develop the core part of their national ARI strategy. Module 1 covered "Why ARI preparedness?"; Module 2 was on "ARI data"; Module 3 took up "ARI prevention and control"; and Module 4 was about "ARI preparedness and response".  

Post the pilot phase, the academy course content and structure will be adapted according to feedbacks received from countries that took part in the pilot training process. The course content will be translated to all UN languages and Portuguese to increase accessibility.

Insights and expertise to develop the ARI strategy

From the WHO South East Asia Region (SEAR), Bhutan and Nepal participated in a simulation exercise on pandemic preparedness plans. They gained experience and competencies in advocating for and developing a national ARI strategy to enhance national preparedness and response to respiratory borne infections of epidemic and pandemic potential. Bhutan and Nepal drafted a strategy for ARIs that can be incorporated into their broad national health strategic plans.

Two pilot countries in SEAR also had the opportunity to apply for funding to finalize and implement their national ARI strategy. Currently they are working towards finalizing draft strategies (either as standalone or integrated with other overarching strategies) and further exercise related activities at the country level.