Côte d'Ivoire – IOM has conducted four-day training for border security agent trainers from nine departments in Cote d’Ivoire.

The trainings, held from 10-14 November in the cities of Man and Guiglo, in the west of the country, were part of a training project that IOM Cote d’Ivoire has been conducting since April 2015, in partnership with the government of Cote d’Ivoire, through the National Institute of Public Hygiene at the Ministry of Health. The project is funded by Japan as a part of three-fold Ebola crisis response project also comprising awareness-raising and equipment provision.

The training brought together 52 border security agent trainers to reinforce their surveillance of land border crossing points with countries where Ebola remains persistent, including Guinea. Previous trainings have targeted community health workers, traditional medicine practitioners and community leaders.

The training was facilitated by the National Institute of Public Hygiene and was conducted in three phases: briefing on previous activities; presentation on the causes, symptoms and prevention mechanisms of the virus; and a role-playing activity with every participant demonstrating his knowledge of awareness-raising techniques.

The training finished with a Q&A session giving participants an opportunity to interact with government and IOM representatives and obtain more field-specific information.

“It is important to continue with the training sessions as the virus remains enduring in the neighbouring countries. Land entry points should be prioritized with the cooperation of the health system and relevant community activities in order to prevent the appearance of the virus inside the Ivorian borders,” said IOM IOM Cote d’Ivoire migration health specialist Dr. Daniel Memain. 

For further information please contact Anita Kassem at IOM Cote d’Ivoire, Tel:  +225.22528200 or +225.79931991, Email: akassem@iom.int