By Chioma Obinna

African Diseases Prevention and Research Development Initiative, ADRAP, a Nigeria-based non-Governmental public health institution is building the capacity of 4,000 health workers in Africa on Tuberculosis prevention, control, and management through electronic Learning (e-Learning).

TB is rated as the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent, ranking above HIV and AIDS among others. In Africa, TB control activities are often hampered by a combination of natural and human factors.

Through the current online training which is happening simultaneously but independently of each other in Nigeria and Liberia, ADRAP is supporting the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme of Nigeria with funding from the Global Fund to advance progress in its TB control activities.

It is also supporting the National Leprosy and Tuberculosis Control Programme of Liberia with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the WHO to achieve a similar feat in Liberia.

This is coming as experts in the health space, particularly those involved in TB intervention activities from Liberia, led by the country’s Deputy Minister of Health, Dr. Francis Kateh, were in Nigeria to learn, first-hand from ADRAP how they could leap-frog some of the obvious and inherent challenges that they face in their everyday work schedules using virtual technology.

Speaking on the e-Learning model, the Chief Executive Officer of ADRAP, Dr. Joseph Enegela, said the visit by the Liberian team highlights the importance of trans-border collaborations to deepen TB control efforts through the promotion of education growth and partnership within the continent.

Enegela said e-learning is the future of health workforce development in Africa, as it facilitates access to quality knowledge, just as its flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and interactive nature offer opportunities for peer-to-peer learning and the ability to standardize education.

 “The future of e-learning for health workforce development in Africa holds tremendous potential to bridge the healthcare education gap, address workforce shortages and improve health outcomes.”

He added that although challenges such as limited resources, inadequate infrastructure, shortage of trained personnel, and a background of increasing disease burden abound, e-learning has emerged as a promising tool to enhance health workforce development in Africa.”

On his part, the Deputy Minister of Health for Liberia, Dr. Francis Kateh, highlighted the need for e-learning as a tool to bypass natural barriers like weather conditions. Citing the case of Liberia, he said, “During the rainy season, many parts of the country are completely cut-off, making healthcare delivery difficult. Therefore, for such a time, there is a need to develop the capacity of health workers.”

He said that COVID-19 created a gap between countries in terms of training and building the capacity of care workers. So, he sees e-learning as critical for continuously building the capacity of Africa’s health workers to provide quality healthcare services.

Programme Manager of the Liberian National Leprosy and TB Control Program, Mr. Rufus Saye in the synopsis of the programme activities said the capacity gap is a challenge to the fight to end TB.

In his presentation, he highlighted the impact online training will have in bridging this gap, saying it is the perfect way to bridge the health workers’ gaps in Africa.

The USAID TB Advisor to Liberia, Dr. Victor Falokun in his comments said the collaborative efforts and visit by the Liberian team is the start of what promises to be a long relationship among African countries and other countries in the Global South that aim to learn from each other and foster a south-south collaboration in the health intervention space. He continued that with the variety of challenges being faced by resource-limited countries, e-learning will be a key factor in accelerating capacity building.

The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Technical Advisor for Liberia, Dr. Moses Jeunrulon, commended the e-Learning initiative, saying it provides a veritable opportunity for making learning an ongoing process.

The WHO Advisor used the opportunity to advocate for more innovative and digital technologies and solutions such as ADRAP’s e-Learning model.

“At WHO, we see this e-learning innovation as a lunch towards e-health and we are ready to support, engage, and partner with ADRAP to scale this up across the continent. Additionally, the lessons from Liberia will be shared regionally so that others can build on it.”

ADRAP is looking at how to return Nigeria, Liberia, and other African countries to the path of progress in the control of diseases in general and TB in particular using e-Learning for health workers as the latitude.