Transferring 'K-Quarantine' Know-How to New Northern Partner Uzbekistan

KOICA Provides 5-Week Remote Training for Local Health Workers
Expecting to Strengthen Partner Countries' COVID-19 Response Beyond Supplying Quarantine Materials

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] KOICA announced on the 2nd that since the 28th of last month, it has been conducting a non-face-to-face training program to strengthen infectious disease response capabilities in Uzbekistan in collaboration with Yonsei University Medical Center.

This training was conducted as part of the ABC program promoted by KOICA under the Korean government’s ‘ODA KOREA: Building TRUST’ initiative for development cooperation towards a safer world for all.

The five-week training, running until the 26th, involves about 150 local health professionals from the Uzbek Ministry of Health, Virus Research Institute, Hygiene Epidemiology Department, Children’s Hospital, and others. KOICA plans to provide them with interactive discussion-based education and customized consulting on infectious disease epidemiological investigation, diagnosis, and infection control, including COVID-19.

The training curriculum was designed based on a prior needs survey (training preference survey) and is structured around ‘Infectious Disease Policy - Diagnosis - Treatment - Medical Education.’ The instructors are six professors from various fields affiliated with Yonsei University Medical Center.

In the first session held on the 28th of last month (local time), Jerome Kim, Secretary-General of the International Vaccine Institute, along with Professors Kim Moon-kyu and Yoon Sang-chul, participated as lecturers, delivering lectures on Korea’s infectious disease prevention and control strategies. They supported local medical personnel to respond swiftly to infectious diseases in the post-COVID-19 era.

On the 5th, Professor Lee Hyuk-min will explain the process of establishing the COVID-19 diagnostic system, and on the 12th, Professor Ahn Dong-il will share national strategies and best practices for COVID-19 response. On the 19th, Professor Baek Song-yi will introduce the interpretation process of medical imaging equipment (such as CT), and on the 26th, Professor Yeom Jun-seop will give a lecture on the treatment of confirmed COVID-19 patients.

Through this capacity-building training, it is expected to strengthen cooperation with Uzbekistan, a key country in the Korean government’s New Northern Policy, and to enhance local infectious disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention capabilities beyond simple quarantine material support. Park Hye-jung, Deputy Director of KOICA’s Uzbekistan Office, stated, “To respond quickly and effectively to COVID-19, strengthening the capabilities of health professionals is most important,” adding, “We will transfer K-quarantine experience and specialized technology to overcome the crisis together.”

Additionally, KOICA, in partnership with the Seoul Metropolitan Government, will support the ‘Seoul-Tashkent City Infectious Disease Management Best Policy Experience Sharing Seminar’ from December 1 to 4 to strengthen infectious disease management capabilities in Uzbekistan. At the seminar, it plans to share Korea’s experience in establishing COVID-19 response policies with staff from the Hygiene Epidemiology Department under the Uzbek Ministry of Health.