Early Warning and Response Training for Health Officers for Banten Province

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health (MoH), Indonesia organized an Early Warning and Response Training on 27th November – 1st December 2023 through the “Project for Strengthening Capacity for Early Warning and Response to Infectious Diseases (EWARS)”

The event was attended by 28 surveillance personnel from the District Health Office (DHO) or District/Municipal Hospital from eight municipalities, the Provincial Hospital, Lab Kesda Laboratories in Tangerang City and Serang City, and the Port Health Office (KKP) Banten Province. Participants came from various level of experience.

The training, which was the first face-to-face training for Banten Province after the COVID-19 pandemic, featured individual and group exercises as well as lectures. The training was conducted at the Jakarta Training Center of the Ministry of Health (BBPK Jakarta) with facilitation by Ms. Lia Septiana, Ms. Wawang, Ms. Andini Hendrawati and Mr. Adi from the Surveillance Working Team under the Directorate of Surveillance and Health Quarantine, Ministry of Health. There were also instructors; Mr. Ubai from WHO, Dr. Hardhantyo PW from Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Dr. Motoyuki Tsuboi, JICA's Chief Advisor, from National Center for Global Health and Medicine (NCGM), who provided lectures throughout the training. In addition to SKDR, the participants also learned about anti-corruption and gender issues from BBPK Jakarta.

The training modules and curriculum were developed by UGM with assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and approved by the Ministry of Health. This was the first training using an accredited training program for EWARS surveillance, with the goal for participants to gain new knowledge and standardized skills. They managed to gain a better understanding of the EWARS application including how to input, read, and analyze data, through Q&A sessions and group discussions. The participants displayed a very positive attitude in the training, and when there were issues to be addressed, everyone discussed and improved their presentations. The participants also learned through sharing their own experiences. The closing ceremony showcased a summary about participants’ impressions as well as an improvement in post-test results, which was highly praised.

Following the training in East Kalimantan in last July 2023, JICA has continued to conduct training for all surveillance personnel in Banten Province. We hope that the training was practical and beneficial, and that the results will be used to optimize surveillance activities in each region.