Integrated chronic disease prevention and control
Capacity building and training
In the context of the Integrated Chronic Disease Prevention and Control, the contemporary view of capacity-building goes beyond the conventional perception of training, it refers to creating sustainable environment for prevention and control of chronic diseases, strengthening or building technical organizations, applying knowledge, experiences, best practices, ensuring that data and information are shared, developing and implementing national policies & strategies, programmes for integrated chronic disease prevention and control, fostering communication, enhancing coordination, and sustaining profound change.
It is clear from the survey on assessment of national capacity for NCD prevention and control conducted by WHO in 2001 and from other assessment exercises that there are serious shortages in human manpower with basic skills and expertise in NCD prevention and control. For example, only two thirds of health professionals were reported to receive training in the management of hypertension. Similar patterns were also observed in relation to basic training in the management of other major chronic diseases like diabetes and bronchial asthma. Another major constraint encountered is the lack of essential standards of health care for people with chronic diseases.
Training is a key ingredient for implementing the global strategy for chronic disease prevention and control. WHO headquarters and regional offices have initiated a number of training programmes for chronic disease prevention and control: