OpenWHO Training
Introduction to COVID-19
ePROTECT respiratory
Country preparedness and response
Treatment facility design
Mass gatherings
Occupational health and safety
Intra-action review
COVID-19 and work
COVID-19 infodemic management
Infodemic management 101
Antigen rapid diagnostic testing (RDT)
Social and behavioural data tool for Africa
Antigen RDT implementation
Private sector engagement
Systematic listening and community feedback
National survey package
Vaccination training for health workers
National deployment planning
Vaccine-specific resources
Costing tool
Leadership moment
Infection prevention and control
Personal protective equipment
Hand hygiene
Waste management
Decontamination of medical devices
Environmental cleaning
Injection safety
Core components
Basic microbiology
Leadership
Transmission-based precautions
Long-term care
Mask use
Infections in health workers
Clinical management
Rehabilitation
Approach to acutely ill
Investigations and care
Respiratory equipment
Clinical care respiratory
Go.Data tool
Neglected tropical diseases
Public health emergency operations centres
Health and peace
Epidemic and pandemic leadership
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are known to cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
A novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was identified in 2019 in Wuhan, China. This is a new coronavirus that has not been previously identified in humans.
This course provides a general introduction to COVID-19 and emerging respiratory viruses and is intended for public health professionals, incident managers and personnel working for the United Nations, international organizations and NGOs.
This course provides a general introduction to Acute Respiratory Infections (ARIs) and basic hygiene measures to protect against infection. By the end of the course, you should be able to describe basic information about ARIs including what they are, how they are transmitted, how to assess the risk of infection and list basic hygiene measures to protect against infection.
In order to assist UN country teams in scaling up country preparedness and response to COVID-19, WHO has developed these learning modules as a companion to the Operational Planning Guidelines to Support Country Preparedness and Response.
The training is intended:
This learning package consists of 3 modules with videos and downloadable presentations.
Screening areas, treatment centres and community facilities are part of the strategic priorities for Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) outbreak preparedness, readiness and response. The SARI Facilities training package has been developed to meet the operational needs emerging with the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides a thorough understanding of the principles driving the design process of COVID-19 screening areas for health care facilities, community facilities and SARI treatment centres, including how to repurpose an existing building into a SARI treatment centre.
The purpose of this course is to provide guidance for health authorities and organizers of mass gatherings in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the specific aim of containing risks associated with transmission of this infection.
All health workers require knowledge and skills to protect themselves and others from the occupational they encounter, so that they can work safely and effectively. This course consists of five sections in response to these needs:
As the COVID-19 pandemic becomes increasingly protracted, WHO has developed a Guidance for Conducting a Country COVID-19 Intra-Action Review (IAR) and ten accompanying tools for countries to conduct periodic reviews of their response during this public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). A Country COVID-19 IAR is a country-led facilitated process that allows stakeholders of the ongoing COVID-19 response to review the functional capacities of public health and emergency response systems at the national or subnational levels to identify best practices, gaps and lessons learned, and propose corrective measures and actions for immediate remediation or sustained improvement of the COVID-19 outbreak response. The course consists of four modules, quizzes after each module and a final assessment.
Everyone has a role in managing the infodemic, and this journey starts by understanding and identifying its key mechanisms and actors. This course is for anyone interested in understanding what an infodemic is, how it dramatically affects public health and what we can do about it now and into the future. Participants can expect to be exposed to a broad range of infodemic management skills and topics and learn the basics on how to decrease the negative impact of misinformation and disinformation on public health.
All personnel performing SARS-CoV-2 antigen rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDT) need to understand how to safely perform testing, ensure quality testing and interpret results. This course is developed to provide theoretical knowledge on SARS-CoV-2 Ag-RDT testing. The learning package consists of 10 modules, which include recorded presentations and videos.
Timely data and insights into people’s changing knowledge, attitudes and behaviors can ensure that the response to COVID-19 is tailored and adapted to the needs of the population. This course introduces a data collection tool that can help countries or regions capture and use this type of data in their response to the pandemic.
This course covers the major elements that must be considered before, during and after the implementation of antigen-detecting rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDTs) in order to ensure effective implementation and greater public health benefits.
During health emergencies, governments needs to mobilize all resources – both public and private – to accelerate the implementation of national response efforts. At the same time, they are called to ensure the private health sector’s actions are aligned to core principles of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and are directed towards the achievement of national health goals. This course defines key concepts and presents a range of tools and proven approaches to enable Ministries of Health to harness private sector capacity to achieve key policy goals, ensuring equitable access to COVID-19 tools while advancing Health for All.
This package can be used by anyone involved in social listening and community feedback efforts, both on the regional, as well as the country level, who would like to organize a workshop series on social listening and community feedback. The lead facilitator of the workshop series should have a good understanding of the different ways to capture, analyse and use community insights. The series has a focus on COVID-19, but can easily be adapted to any other public health context.
This course provides an overview (only) of key considerations to support country offices to work with partners to improve national data collection. The survey package described here is designed to collect social and behavioural data – perception, knowledge, practices, social and structural factors – to inform the uptake and roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines as well guide risk communication and community engagement planning and intervention to address community fatigue and complacency towards public health and social measures.
All health workers involved in implementation of COVID-19 vaccination need to have adequate knowledge and skills in order to ensure safe and efficient COVID-19 vaccine administration. The COVID-19 vaccination training for health workers package is developed for frontline health workers in countries. The package consists of 6 modules, which include video lectures, quizzes, job aids, interactive exercises and downloadable presentations with the available information.
The Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator’s Country Readiness and Delivery workstream has released guidance on developing a national deployment and vaccination plan (NDVP) for COVID-19 vaccines. This course is intended to help national and sub-national focal points in countries develop the NDVP and prepare for COVID-19 vaccine introduction.
Health workers involved in deployment and implementation of COVID-19 vaccination require vaccine-specific knowledge to ensure safe and efficient vaccine delivery. This training provides key information about COVID-19 vaccines through short instructional videos, vaccine explainers, job aids, topic briefings, and downloadable presentations. It builds on the COVID-19 vaccination training for health workers and the Orientation to National Deployment and Vaccination Planning for COVID-19.
The CVIC tool is the WHO-UNICEF tool designed to assist countries in the process of planning and costing COVID-19 vaccination. The aim of this course is to demonstrate the use of the CVIC tool. The course is targeting national programme managers and personnel who have been involved in the costing, budgeting or financing processes of COVID-19 vaccine delivery in a country.
The pandemic has revealed deep structural and systemic issues in our society. From equity issues to people’s loss of trust in institutions evidenced by vaccine hesitancy, the need for a different approach to leading consequential change is evident. How do we mobilize people to tackle complexity, while holding them through uncertainty towards a better future? This course aims to start you on your leadership journey to do just that!
This course provides information on what facilities should be doing to be prepared to respond to a case of an emerging respiratory virus such as the novel coronavirus, how to identify a case once it occurs, and how to properly implement IPC measures to ensure there is no further transmission to HCW or to other patients and others in the healthcare facility.
This training is intended for healthcare workers and public health professionals, as it is focused on infection prevention and control.
This is a guide for healthcare workers involved in patient care activities in a healthcare setting. It aims to show the type of personal protective equipment or PPE needed to correctly protect oneself. Based on the current available evidence, the WHO recommended PPE for the care of COVID patients are CONTACT and DROPLET precautions, with the exception of aerosol producing procedures, which require CONTACT and AIRBORNE (hence, a respirator mask such as N95, FFP2, FFP3). Keeping in mind, PPE is part of a larger infection prevention and control bundle of measures and should be implemented as part of a multimodal strategy of management of COVID-19 patients. Only clinical staff who are trained and competent in the use of PPE should be allowed to enter the patient’s room.
Most health care-associated infections are preventable through good hand hygiene – cleaning hands at the right times and in the right way. The WHO Guidelines on hand hygiene in health care support hand hygiene promotion and improvement in health care facilities worldwide and are complemented by the WHO multimodal hand hygiene improvement strategy, the guide to implementation, and implementation toolkit, which contain many ready-to-use practical tools. This module has been prepared to help summarize the WHO guidelines on hand hygiene, associated tools and ideas for effective implementation.
Standard precautions: Waste management
According to WHO, about 85% of the total amount of waste generated by health care activities is general, non-hazardous waste. The remaining 15% is considered hazardous material that could be infectious, toxic or radioactive. Hazardous waste that is not managed properly presents a risk to hospital patients, health care personnel and the general public.
Decontamination and sterilization of medical devices
The decontamination of instruments and medical devices plays a very important role in the prevention of health care-associated infections (HAIs). Indeed, improper decontamination of surgical instruments, endoscopic devices, respiratory care devices and reusable haemodialysis devices still occurs in many settings, leading to HAIs. This course is based on the WHO manual on decontamination and reprocessing of medical devices for health care facilities, as well as in collaboration with the US CDC.
Standard precautions: Environmental cleaning and disinfection
The health care environment contains a diverse population of microorganisms and can be a reservoir for potential pathogens. If environmental cleaning is not performed correctly, then environmental contamination can contribute to the spread of multidrug-resistant organisms and health care-associated infections. Collaboration between infection prevention and control (IPC) and environmental services (EVS) staff limits the role of the health care environment in disease transmission.
Following safe injection practices is key to preventing the spread of infection during health care delivery. Unsafe injection practices include: unnecessary injections, reusing needles and syringes, using a single dose medication vial for multiple patients, giving an injection in an environment that is not clean and hygienic, and risking injury due to incorrect sharps disposal.
The associated dangers such as needle-stick injuries put health workers at risk of infection and, in many cases, these injuries are underreported. It is important to make sure health care workers in your facility are trained in sharps injury prevention, as accidents can easily occur if safety practices are not routinely and rigorously followed.
Using WHO’s Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) core components as a roadmap, you will see how effective IPC programmes can prevent harm from health care-associated infections (HAI) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) at the point of care. This course will introduce you to the multimodal strategy for IPC implementation, and define how this strategy works to create systemic and cultural changes that improve IPC practices. This foundational knowledge will guide you in effective development and implementation of IPC programmes and IPC education in your facility.
Microbes are living organisms that can be beneficial, neutral or harmful to humans. A basic understanding of microbiology will allow you to recognize how your role as an Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) person can help break the cycle of transmission, prevent health care-associated infections (HAI) and reduce antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
Leadership is an important part of a successful Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) programme. These skills can affect positive change in an IPC team, other leaders and health care staff, and lead to sustainable IPC programmes. In order to develop a sustainable programme, IPC leaders must have good project management and risk assessment skills and understanding of implementation strategies. We will also learn the importance of developing adequate education and training for health care workers in your facility.
Transmission-based Precautions, when used alongside Standard Precautions, can stop or slow the spread of known or suspected infections. This course will cover the main modes of transmission, what precautions can be used stop their spread and what personal protective equipment is required when caring for patients under Transmission-based Precautions. Transmission-based Precautions are additional measures we can use in health care to help keep both staff and patients safe.
The COVID-19 pandemic affects older people disproportionately, especially those living in long-term care facilities (LTCF) with significant impact on mortality and morbidity. Concerted action is needed to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 by enhancing infection prevention and control (IPC) measures within LTCF. The COVID-19 IPC course for LTCF consists of 4 training modules to be used in conjunction with the LTCF communication toolkit and preparedness checklist. This package is tailored for LTCF and based on WHO’s in-depth technical guidance on IPC.
This course provides an overview of the guidance on masks as outlined in “Mask use in the context of COVID-19”.
This training is intended for health workers, decision-makers, and the public and covers correct mask use for both healthcare and community settings.
All healthcare facilities should establish or strengthen and implement IPC programmes and Occupational Health and Safety programmes to ensure health worker safety and prevent health worker infections while in the work environment. This course will highlight the epidemiology and risk factors associated with health worker infections with SARS-CoV-2, review measures that can be put in place to reduce risks, support identification of infection in health workers and review strategies for managing health workers to safely return to work post infection.
The Clinical Management of Patients with COVID-19 course series is developed for healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The course provides crucial knowledge necessary to provide safe, effective quality patient care. Presentations address all aspects of clinical management, including facility preparation and surge planning; health worker infection prevention and control; interfacility transfer; clinical management of mild, moderate, and severely ill patients with COVID-19; special considerations for geriatric, pregnant, and pediatric patients with COVID-19; rehabilitation; and ethics and palliative care.
The course series consists of 6 courses, which include video lectures and downloadable presentations that have been updated with the latest guidance and evidence. Each module contains 5-8 lectures, and each lecture includes a quiz to evaluate knowledge acquisition.
The sixth course of the Clinical Management of Patients with COVID-19 course series is devoted to the rehabilitation of patients with COVID-19. The seven course modules address the manifold and varied rehabilitation needs of patients recovering from COVID-19, including patients with cognitive impairment, physical deconditioning and weakness, respiratory impairment, swallow impairment, communication impairment and challenges in completing Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). Techniques for rehabilitation also are addressed.
This course in the Clinical Management of Patients with COVID-19 series is dedicated to the initial approach to the acutely ill patient. Reviewed topics include screening and triage, including a lecture on the interagency integrated triage tool; how to designate a specific resuscitation area in an emergency unit, and how to use the WHO medical emergency checklist; and resuscitation area designation. Additionally, a systematic approach to the acutely ill patient is taught via the WHO/ICRC Basic Emergency Care course content, with specific modules on the ABCDE approach, approach to difficulty in breathing, approach to shock, and approach to altered mental status. The goal of these modules is to prepare and support health providers as they provide emergency care to seriously ill patients.
This course of the Clinical Management of Patients with COVID-19 course series provides an overview of the management strategies in caring for patients with mild, moderate, and severe COVID-19. Investigations and diagnostics are discussed with ‘Laboratory considerations in COVID-19’ and three modules dedicated to ‘Imaging in COVID-19.’ Administration of oxygen is given dedicated attention with ‘Oxygen therapy via nasal cannula and face masks.’ Management is addressed with the modules ‘Management of mild and moderate COVID-19,’ ‘Management of severe COVID-19’ and ‘Co-infections and use of antimicrobials in COVID-19.’
All health workers require knowledge and skills to care for patients safely and protect themselves from undue harm. This course was developed due to the enormous emphasis placed on need for safe provision of oxygen to patients with COVID-19, but can be used for conditions beyond COVID-19. This course teaches how to choose the right equipment for your facility, how to set up new respiratory equipment, how to clinically use respiratory equipment, how to maintain equipment, including troubleshooting, repairs and infection prevention and control, and how to decommission equipment.
This course includes content on clinical management of patients with a severe acute respiratory infection.
It is intended for clinicians who are working in intensive care units (ICUs) in low and middle-income countries and managing adult and pediatric patients with severe forms of acute respiratory infection (SARI), including severe pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), sepsis and septic shock. It is a hands-on practical guide to be used by health care professionals involved in clinical care management during outbreaks of influenza virus (seasonal) human infection due avian influenza virus (H5N1, H7N9), MERS-CoV, COVID-19 or other emerging respiratory viral epidemics.
Go.Data is a field data collection platform focusing on case data (including lab, hospitalization and other variables though case investigation form) and contact data (including contact follow-up). This briefing package provides an orientation to the purpose, benefits and utilization of Go.Data, consisting of 7 modules with a narrated walkthrough of the key features of the Go.Data web-based platform and mobile application.
This course is intended for decision-makers and programme managers who want to learn more about neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Its 5 modules introduce NTDs, outline the impact of COVID-19 on NTD programmes and WHO’s response to mitigate its consequences, and finally present WHO’s recommendations on maintenance of essential health services for NTDs as well as guidance on adaptation and safe resumption of community-based NTD activities during the pandemic.
A Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC) is a physical location for the coordination of information and resources to support incident management activities. PHEOCs are also referred to as “operations centres”, “situation rooms” and “command centres”. Experience has shown that timely implementation of a PHEOC provides an essential platform for the management of public health emergencies and can help avoid common failings such as lack of clear leadership leading to delayed decision making, mismanagement of resources and poor coordination.
This online course is designed as a companion to WHO’s Framework for a Public Health Emergency Operations Centre and is aimed at health emergency preparedness and response professionals, policy makers and partners seeking to implement and sustain Public Health Emergency Operations Centres.
The WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) is stricken with many areas of unrest, including active wars and protracted conflicts. These conflicts have wide-reaching impacts, resulting in disrupted health systems, poor health indicators, brain drain, re-emergence of high-threat pathogens, and the largest migration rates.
With the view of promoting peacebuilding in FCV (fragile, conflict, violence) countries, the WHO created the “Health as a Bridge for Peace” (HBP) program in 1997. Since then a number of similar initiatives have been launched, all aiming to create a healthier and safer world. In EMR, the WHO Regional Office is spearheading a similar initiative titled “HoPE” i.e. Health for Peace. This introductory course is part of HoPE activities.
Epidemics and pandemics pose unique challenges to public health leaders. The COVID-19 pandemic is an embodiment of this reality. During the response phase of a health crisis like COVID-19, public health leaders work under stressful conditions to save lives, build and sustain the morale of their teams, engage with diverse partners and communicate confidently – and yet they are expected to maintain a strategic focus at all times. The Leadership Programme on Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness and Response addresses these stressors and provides insights from a variety of top-notch experts in the field.
Jointly designed by the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (WHO/EMRO) together with the United Nations Systems Staff College (UNSSC), this programme was designed for WHO representatives and senior leaders of Ministries of Health in the Eastern Mediterranean region. However, all course materials, such as the Leadership Lecture recordings and resources, and the Learning Resources, are openly accessible.
Other training
This webinar is a collaboration between University of Texas at Austin’s Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas, UNESCO’s Multi-Donor Programme on Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists and WHO.
Available in Spanish, Portuguese, French
This self-directed course is for Journalists wanting to improve news coverage of the COVID-19 global pandemic. It is based on a multilingual webinar titled “Variants, Vaccines and Medications: What journalists need to know to improve COVID-19 coverage,” which took place in January 2022, and featured three panels of renowned science and health journalists and medical experts. The Webinar discusses ways to improve press coverage of the pandemic, and fundamental issues that reporters and editors must consider when informing the public about COVID-19. This Webinar also addresses ways to combat disinformation.
The course is divided into three modules, each including a video, transcript and readings. The modules cover disinformation and evolving data; mutations and variants; and vaccines and medications. Health and science experts and journalists from different regions around the world speak about professional challenges on reporting on COVID-19; inequitable access to information, and global contexts for journalists covering new developments around the pandemic.
Produced in collaboration with the WHO, UNESCO and UNDP, this course — created by the University of Texas-Austin and the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas — helps journalists to improve their coverage of the pandemic. The course is offered in English, Arabic, French, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish and is self-directed.(Chinese and Hindi self-directed versions are also in the works and will be posted here in the coming months.) The course is free and available to journalists who are interested in acquiring new knowledge and resources to improve your coverage and understanding of the pandemic.
The course was originally presented in May 2020 as a four-week virtual massive open online course (MOOC). Maryn McKenna, a former CNN reporter, created, curated, and presented the content for the course, which includes video classes, readings, exercises, and more.
The course materials are broken up into five modules:
Intro Module: Introduction to the course and the outline of topics
Module 1: Where did COVID-19 come from?
Module 2: Covering COVID-19 right now
Module 3: The hope for treatments and vaccines
Module 4: Coronavirus: The way forward
This webinar was presented by Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas in partnership with UNESCO & the World Health Organization, with funding from the European Union.
Available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish
On 29 March, the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas at the University of Texas-Austin, in collaboration with the WHO, UNESCO and UNDP and with funding from the European Union, will launch its second massive open online course for journalists to improve their coverage of COVID-19 vaccines. The course, led by former CNN correspondent and WIRED journalist Maryn McKenna is initially being offered in English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish. The course is free and available to journalists who are interested in acquiring new knowledge and resources to improve their coverage of COVID-19 vaccine development, production, and distribution.
The course is four once-a-week modules that runs from 29 March to 25 April.
Module 1: The development and technology behind the different vaccines that have been released and that are being created.
Module 2: The acquisition and distribution of vaccines globally, including “vaccine nationalism” and questions of equity.
Module 3: Vaccine hesitancy and anti-vaccination activism, as well as misinformation and disinformation against vaccines
Since the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005) entered into force in 2007, there has been increasing recognition that, unlike airports and ports, ground crossings often constitute informal passages between two countries without a physical structure, barriers, or borders. Moreover, ground crossings play an important role in the international spread of disease. Travellers and people living and working on and around borders are particularly vulnerable to this threat.
Operational Considerations for Managing COVID-19 Cases and Outbreaks in Aviation
Under the International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005, public health authorities at international ports, airports and ground crossings are required to establish effective contingency plans and arrangements for responding to events that may constitute a public health emergency of international concern and to communicate with their National IHR Focal Point about relevant public health measures.
Management of ill travelers at points of entry in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak
Under the International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005, public health authorities at international ports, airports and ground crossings are required to establish effective contingency plans and arrangements for responding to events that may constitute a public health emergency of international concern and to communicate with their National IHR Focal Point about relevant public health measures.
The current outbreak of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) disease has spread across borders through travelers, conveyances, which has prompted demands for the detection and management of suspected cases at points of entry (POE), including ports, airports and ground crossings, on board conveyances.
Under the International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005, public health authorities at international ports, airports and ground crossings are required to establish effective contingency plans and arrangements for responding to events that may constitute a public health emergency of international concern and to communicate with their National IHR Focal Point about relevant public health measures.
The current outbreak of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) disease has spread across borders through travelers, conveyances, which has prompted demands for the detection and management of suspected cases at points of entry (POE), including ports, airports and ground crossings, on board conveyances.
Developed by WHO and ICRC, in collaboration with the International Federation for Emergency Medicine, Basic Emergency Care (BEC): Approach to the acutely ill and injured is an open-access training course for frontline healthcare providers who manage acute illness and injury with limited resources, focused on presentations of difficulty in breathing, shock, and altered mental status. Produced in response to requests from multiple countries and international partners, the BEC package includes a Participant Workbook and electronic slide decks for each module. Integrating the guidance from WHO Emergency Triage, Assessment and Treatment (ETAT) for children and the Integrated Management of Adult/Adolescent Illness (IMAI), BEC teaches a systematic approach to the initial assessment and management of time-sensitive conditions where early intervention saves lives. Available in English and Spanish.
WHO Medical Emergency Checklist
The WHO Medical Emergency Checklist is a modified version of the WHO Trauma Care Checklist designed for use in emergency units for patients with acute conditions such as severe difficulty in breathing. It reviews actions at two critical points to ensure that no life threatening conditions are missed and that timely, life-saving interventions are performed.
The adaptation of this checklist for medical emergency care was led by an expert group from the WHO global emergency care systems network. The WHO Medical Emergency Checklist is appropriate in any setting delivering emergency care, and can be easily adapted to local needs.
Resuscitation Area Designation Tool
The guidance on Resuscitation Area Designation describes a standardized approach to organize resuscitation areas and keep essential resources close at hand, ensuring the sickest patients in the emergency unit are clearly identified and receive needed care.
