PRACTICAL TRAINING IN HEALTH EDUCATION

Implementation will be provided by the Cameroon Ministry of Health (MOH), the University Center for Health Sciences (CUSS) and the Organization for the Coordination of the Fight Against Endemic Diseases in Central Africa (OCEAC). Project activities will take place at three levels. At the field level, 260 Peace Corps volunteers will work with 788 villages to form Village Health Committees, make sanitation improvements, and give basic health education instructions. This activity is related to a USAID project (625051000) which is helping 12 rural Catholic Relief Services missions train health workers and carry out community outreach activities . At the local/regional health personnel or "middle" level, OCEAC will provide 160 dispensary personnel with further health education training. A current OCEAC course for registered nurses will be expanded from six months to a 2-year diploma course, and approximately 100 nurses will be "recycled" into health specialists. OCEAC will also offer training to 120 health workers, about half of whom will be from other Central African countries. A.I.D. project technicians and MOH personnel will develop and implement an in-service training program in health education for 511 primary school teachers. As a corolary to the USAID project (625053100) to develop improved health professional training at CUSS, a practical training program in health education for a total of 400 CUSS students, as well as for 313 students from the National School of Nurses and Midwives, will be developed. During field training, students will also program staff in all activities at the village level. Training will also be provided to 10 nursing school faculty. Finally, at the national level, three U.S. technicians will assist MOH counterparts in project implementation and in developing health policy and planning capabilities.