February 13, 2023, Ashgabat: The Office of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Turkmenistan in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Drexel University organized a three-day Training of Trainers for health workers and other professionals in Turkmenistan on Essentials of Risk Communications and Community Engagement (RCCE) to develop and disseminate messages to the public and create feedback mechanisms during health emergencies.
The training aimed at equipping the local specialists with the best international practice on interpersonal communications, misinformation, and bias management. Particularly, it strengthened capacity of national specialists to understand and inform the public about risks and preventive measures while promoting community engagement mechanisms to build resilience for future disasters.
“The global pandemic outbreak of COVID-19 caused immense impact on human life, presenting an unprecedented challenge not only to public health but also to social and economic aspects of life across the world, pushing millions of lives into extreme poverty. UNICEF and its key partners immediately prioritized adapting a strategic approach in effective engagement and communication with public during health emergency situations” said Mohammad Fayyazi, UNICEF Representative in Turkmenistan, in his opening remarks.
The training was held in hybrid format with the participation of representatives of the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry, Youth Organization of Turkmenistan named after Magtymguly, Women’s Union, National Red Crescent Society of Turkmenistan and international experts from the Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health. It is expected that the new trainers will deliver similar trainings to relevant specialists across Turkmenistan.
This activity was possible thanks to the funding from the Government of Turkmenistan and the World Bank in the framework of the Turkmenistan COVID-19 Response Project.
UNICEF is committed to achieving the results and goals of the project by offering the best international practices in strengthening the pandemic response capacity of national partners. UNICEF will further continue providing support in strengthening the Risk Communication and Community Engagement capacity of national partners. ///UNICEF Turkmenistan