HAEFA, in collaboration with Project HOPE and partners at the National Institute of Mental Health, and BSMMU, Dhaka, has been implementing “HERO-BANGLADESH,” an online Mental Health and Resiliency Training of the Trainers (TOT) for frontline healthcare workers including physicians, nurses, paramedics of Bangladesh since November 2021.
This Mental Health TOT was inaugurated by the Honorable Minister Dr. Dipu Moni, MP, Ministry of Education on November 25, 2021. Other dignitaries present at the occasion were Prof. Dr. Robed Amin, Line Director, NCD, DGHS, as well as national mental health specialists Prof. Dr. Mohit Kamal, Dr. Mekhala Sarkar, and other mental health experts and enthusiasts from the USA and Bangladesh. The session was moderated by Prof. Dr. Ruhul Abid and other volunteer physicians, trainers, and management staff of HAEFA. This online, live, interactive training course has two modules: Module 1 : Overview of Stress; and Module 2: Management of Stress and Building Resilience.
It is a Free of Cost two-day course with two-hour per day, led by the mental health experts of BSMMU, NIMH, and volunteer physicians and enthusiasts of Bangladesh and the USA.
After completing both modules, trainers get a "Training Completion Certificate" and other training materials. Participants of the TOT will then conduct cascading trainings to share mental health resources within their networks. HERO-BANGLADESH is aiming to train 3,000 healthcare workers by April 2022.
The primary goal is to ensure this information is disseminated as widely as possible throughout Bangladesh.
As of April 2022, HAEFA and partners have trained 434 health care providers, public health and humanitarian workers, and other professionals as trainers for the HERO-Bangladesh Mental Health and Resilience curriculum in collaboration with project HOPE.
Through the ToT model, over 5,295 individuals have received cascading training. Thank you to the many partners (NIMH, BSMMU, DGHS, DMCH) who made this program a success!