06 September 2012 / Pretoria -- Seventy Health Workers representing national and nine provincial health departments completed a three day Risk Communication Training Workshop organized jointly by the National Department of Health (NDoH), the WHO Country Office (WCO) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC). The training focused on building capacities in communication systems, processes and skills required to detect, assess, inform and respond to public health emergencies in a timely and effective manner.

Addressing the opening of the workshop, the WHO Country Representative, Dr Sarah Barber, acknowledged it as a great start towards the country’s full compliance with IHR Core Capacity 6 requirements. As such she encouraged participants on completing the training to form risk communication teams and cascade this training to district level in their respective provinces.

Some of the other core capacity 6 requirements that provinces still need support to comply with include development of:

Risk Communication Plan
Guidelines on the clearance and release of information during a public health emergency, and
Information sources to the media and the public for information dissemination during public health emergencies.
Among the speakers at the workshop were Dr Frew Benson, IHR Focal Point, who opened the workshop on behalf of Ms. Precious Matsoso, Director General, National Department of Health (NDOH); Dr. Nancy Knight, Director, US CDC South Africa; and Dr. Marsha Vanderford, Associate Director for Communication, US CDC.