Achill – International Health and Development Training for Healthcare Workers

The Irish Forum for Global Health, in partnership with the Health Service Executive Global Health Programme and ESTHER Ireland, organised a training course in late October to address aspects of health – and the provision of healthcare – in resource-poor settings.

Developed in response to requests from health care workers for introductory training on issues associated with this area of health – as there is currently no such training available in Ireland – the course enabled participants to critically examine their own skills and competencies, and identify areas for further development.

Taking place at the Achill Outdoor Education Centre, where staff include members of the Mayo Mountain Rescue Team, the curriculum and learning outcomes were devised as a direct follow on from responses given by potential course participants in the application process. In this way the course was designed to faciliatate attendees, and allow their personal experiences to form the foundation for what was provided during the course.

The group included people from a range of backgrounds (healthcare assistant, health promotion, laboratory, management, medical, nursing, pharmacy) at different career stages (recently qualified to retired). With sessions including themes of development, health systems, reproductive and maternal health, nutrition and child health, WASH, diseases of poverty, remote skills, and culture; content was diverse and selected for being broad-reaching and multi-faceted. And learning was not limited to a lecture format, with workshops, board games and practical exercises highlighting lessons.

The course highlighted a lack of training which will become increasingly important during the implementation of One World, One Future; and it is hoped this course has shown that a demand exists for such training.

Resources will be made available when they become available on this site.