Staff of MSACS TI NGO partners sensitized on HCV
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, July 14 2018: A five day long training of health care providers of TI NGO partners (NGOs implementing targeted intervention programme under MSACS) of Manipur State AIDS Control Society (MSACS), which commenced from July 6, under the joint aegis of Community Network for Empowerment (CoNE) and MSACS concluded at Classic Hotel, yesterday.

A press release issued by RK Nalinikanta, president of CoNE, mentioned that altogether 140 staff (92 Outreach Worker /ORW and 48 counsellor/ANM nurse) from 46 TI NGOs were trained during the programme, which was organized with the support from Coalition PLUS.

The training programme was conducted in five batches (one batch per day), with each batch covering around 30-35 TI NGO staff from altogether 46 TI NGOs.

The training programme was primarily held with the objective to strengthen the skills and understanding health care providers of TI NGOs on the mode of HCV transmission, its preventive measures and also the importance of early diagnosis and treatment of HCV among high risk populations including injecting Drug Users (IDUs), Female Sex Workers (FSWs), Men Having Sex with Men (MSM) and HIV patients and also to improve access to HCV screening, diagnosis and treatment among high risk populations across the State and to minimize the myths and misconception on HCV.

With the lack of component specific to HCV prevention in the existing National HIV harm reduction programme, though Hepatitis C is a serious concern for PUDs as sharing contaminated injecting paraphernalia highly increases the risk of hepatitis C infection, understanding on hepatitis C prevention, diagnosis and treatment is very limited among the health care service providers of TI NGOs thereby resulting in the low level of awareness, voluntary testing of HCV and treatment among PUDs and other high risk populations across the State, it stated.

CoNE considered it deemed necessary to organize the training programme in the interest of the general public.

During the course of the training, participants were provided pre and post training evaluation questioner with an aim to assess the level of knowledge/skills of the participants in the beginning and at the end of the training.

Various resource persons including Dr Karam Romeo Singh, Associate professor RIMS and Gastroenterologist and Dr S Jeetesh Singh, Medical Officer, Medicine Sans Frontiers (MSF), Churachandpur spoke on different topics like "Why hepatitis C is important for people living with HIV, how it is transmitted and how it can be prevented", "Diagnosing hepatitis C infection, Understanding hepatitis C and its effects on liver" and "Tests to assess liver condition, Understanding HIV/ hepatitis C co-infection, Goal and preparing for hepatitis C treatment" .

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