The collaboration between NHM Mizoram and ECHO India enabled virtual training of over 300 healthcare professionals enabing effective delivery of healthcare services amid the COVID pandemic
ECHO India, a non-profit organisation revolutionising healthcare education and healthcare access across India, in collaboration with NHM Mizoram organised a two days training program called the ‘Immersion Training’ for senior health officials of the state. The Immersion training is aimed at familiarising the state health officials with the ECHO Model, which is a proven and effective model to strengthen healthcare systems through capacity building.
The Immersion Training, organized at the Floria Hotel, Aizawl was inaugurated by the Chief Guest Dr. R. Lalthangliana, Honourable Minister, Health and Family Welfare Department, Government of Mizoram. Other dignitaries present at the event included Dr. Eric Zomawia, Mission Director, NHM Mizoram.
Speaking at the event, the Honourable Health Minister Dr R. Lalthangliana said “Effective delivery of quality health services, specially to the underserved, is our prime responsibility and to ensure best healthcare outcomes is the focus area of the Health and Family Welfare Department, Government of Mizoram. It is essential to give medical professionals of our state ample opportunities to upskill their knowledge so that they can continuously improve healthcare outcomes and are ready to effectively deal with all emerging medical challenges”.
“With advancement of technology, use of digital healthcare services and capacity building programs have become the need of the hour, especially in the wake of challenges thrown at us by the COVID-19 pandemic. The capacity building programs facilitated by ECHO India are very helpful to keep our frontline medical staff up to date with recent advancements in treatment guidelines”, the health minister added.
Dr. Eric Zomawia, MD, NHM Mizoram said, “I strongly believe that Mizoram’s healthcare system and its delivery mechanism can be further strengthened by adopting use of technology for knowledge dissemination. Running capacity building programs using the ECHO Model is very effective as it offers healthcare professionals easier, more efficient access to information, opportunities for continuous learning, the ability to give and receive feedback and greater motivation to learn and engage.”
Dr Sandeep Bhalla, Associate Vice president of ECHO India said “We are very proud of our partnership with NHM Mizoram. Our other healthcare partners in the state include the State TB Center (STC) and the Mizoram Nursing Council, which is a unique example where ECHO India played a critical role as catalyst as well as enabler for health system strengthening and contributed for building capacity of over 300 healthcare professionals to fight COVID-19 through its Vaccination Confidence and Advocacy Program (VCAP).”
The ECHO model enables case-based learning of healthcare professionals – doctors, nurses, ASHAs and all cadres of Community Health Workers – amplifying their ability to provide quality healthcare for underserved people. Owing to its effectiveness and successful implementation across all 28 states for diseases like COVID-19, tuberculosis, cancer screening and mental health, ECHO has already established itself as the go-to platform for building capacity in many national healthcare programs under an MoU signed in 2019 with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India.
