Capacity building for healthcare workers in the Public Hospital Network in Bogotá, Colombia, in response to COVID-19.

Aware of this situation, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), within the framework of a cooperation agreement with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), has initiated a series of in-person training sessions in hospital units on humanization of services, mental health care, and biosafety measures. These training sessions will benefit 1,662 professionals in the Bogotá Public Hospital Network. Priority was given to the training profiles of nursing assistants, nurses, intensive care physicians, respiratory therapists, and others, who are daily caring for patients with COVID-19.



The training program began in October and will run until December, covering the four (4) Subnetworks of the city, and contributing to the development of theoretical and practical workshops, which are being facilitated by a highly qualified team of psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, family doctors, and intensive care physicians from the Universities of La Sabana and El Rosario.

To develope the "Korea-Colombia Response Center for the COVID-19 Emergency" project between the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), and the Mayor's Office of Bogotá

PAHO/WHO, together with the Bogotá Ministry of Health and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), hopes that by the end of the nearly 300 training sessions, the teams providing care to patients infected with COVID-19 will have the skills to care for their personal, occupational, and community needs, both mentally and physically, thereby preventing psychological problems that can lead to serious and chronic disorders, physical illnesses, and reducing the number of people infected with COVID-19.



The training program for health personnel in Bogotá is part of the "Korea-Colombia Response Center for the COVID-19 Emergency" project, the implementation of which was agreed upon through a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), and the Mayor's Office of Bogotá. Similarly, the project includes the participation of APC Colombia, the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the COVID-19 Emergency Response Management as coordinating entities.