May 07, 2020

HSP Partners Conduct Biosafety Training, Trust Building Workshop With Medical Professionals And Community Leaders In Pakistan

In Pakistan, HSP partners at the Association for Biorisk Management (ABM) conducted a biosafety training with twelve medical professionals and local community leaders from the Tehsil Tangi district of Charsadda, a community of more than 400,000 people. The training focused on biosafety and precautionary measures that can be used to stop community-based transmission of COVID-19, as well as trust building exercises between the two groups.

During the training, community leaders and medical staff were made aware of topics like biosafety, personal protection, and waste disposal; especially, proper disposal of the surgical masks that are used by the majority of the population. Measures that individuals can take to stop the spread of COVID-19 like social distancing, avoiding shaking hands, staying at home, avoiding crowded places, and frequent hand-washing with water and soap, were also discussed.

After the biosafety training portion, ABM then facilitated a dialogue between medical staff and the community leaders to build trust and ensure collective efforts will be made to complement the government’s efforts to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 in the district. At the end of the session, the community elders were highly satisfied and motivated to cooperate with medical staff to augment the disease control process.