The ANRS Senegal partner site: Training to enhance the skills of health professionals and key research players

At the end of 2023, two training courses were delivered in Senegal to enhance the skills of various healthcare professionals and research players.

Published on 23 January 2024

In brief: 2 CRF training courses

From 16 to 20 October 2023, in partnership with RAEE, the CRCF and ANRS MIE organised a training workshop on anthropology of emerging epidemics.

From 6 to 14 November 2023, in partnership with the Institut Pasteur de Paris, the new Pharmaceutical Regulation Agency (ARP) and the IRD, they both were putting on the 6th edition of the course on Clinical Trial Methodology and Training of Clinical Study Technicians (CST).

The anthropology of epidemics in response to emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases

In response to social and health effects of emerging or re-emerging epidemics, a training workshop called ‘Training Workshop in anthropology of emerging epidemics’ was held in Dakar (Senegal) on 16 October 2023. The workshop was organised by the CRCF (Centre Régional de Recherche et de Formation à la Prise en Charge Clinique de Fann), with the support of the ANRS MIE and the RAEE (Réseau Anthropologie des Epidémies Emergentes). Its aim was to improve the skills of various players in public healthcare to help them provide an appropriate response to the risk of epidemics.

Participants were made more conscious of the social and health issues associated with this risk. The emphasis was placed on operational capacities needed to epidemic preparedness and response. It is in this context that the CRCF, with its multidisciplinary approach, has developed tools for analysis and understanding based on anthropology of epidemics. This training course, built around 12 modules, brought together 34 participants, who were able to share their experiences of managing the various epidemics they have had to deal with. The course was based on the handbook Anthropologie appliquée aux épidémies émergentes [Desclaux A., Billaud A., Sow K. (eds) 2022].

6th Clinical trial Methodology and CST training course in Dakar: improving clinical research skills

Clinical research in Senegal has been expanding rapidly for several years, increasing the need for qualified human resources. With this in mind, the CRCF, in collaboration with the ANRS MIE, the Institut Pasteur de Paris, the ARP and the IRD (the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development), has organised the 6th edition of the event called the Course on ‘Clinical trial methodology and Training of clinical study technicians’, from 6 to 14 November 2023.

This edition was a special one. Although it was similar to the previous ones, its scope was broader and more specialised. For the first time, the event was jointly organised and funded by ANRS MIE and ARP. Teaching time has been extended, with more in-depth methodological aspects that form the cornerstone of the course. The teaching staff are qualified professionals with extensive research experience: epidemiologists, methodologists, pharmacists, ethics specialists, clinical research associates and anthropologists.

The session brought together 28 participants from a wide range of backgrounds (doctors, pharmacists, midwives, nurses, laboratory technicians, community health students) and various health structures, research institutions and universities. The training has been a great success and is generating growing demand in Senegal and the sub-region. It is set to be continued and developed both nationally and internationally.

The ANRS Senegal partner site: Training to enhance the skills of health professionals and key research players

In brief: 2 CRF training courses

The anthropology of epidemics in response to emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases

6th Clinical trial Methodology and CST training course in Dakar: improving clinical research skills

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