Mobilizing medical students for improved COVID-19 response in Nigeria: a stop gap in human resources for health

Authors

  • Olayinka Stephen Ilesanmi University of Ibadan
  • Olayide Olubunmi Olabumuyi University College Hospital
  • Aanuoluwapo Adeyimika Afolabi University of Ibadan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31646/gbio.89

Keywords:

Medical students, COVID-19, Human resource for health, COVID-19 outbreak response, COVID-19 outbreak preparedness

Abstract

The Human Resources for Health (HRH) are one of the major building blocks of any health system. Shortage of HRH has however been observed in Nigeria during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the COVID-19 context, medical students could serve as a pool of person-power for contact tracing and to develop capacity in epidemiology and disease surveillance. Their understanding of their community makes them effective in advocacy, activism, social mobilization and risk communication. Lessons should be learnt through the identification of contextual methodology to develop the untapped capacity of HRH in outbreak preparedness and response by involving more students and other stakeholders. This will ultimately help in reducing the disparity between developed and developing countries’ health system and health event outcomes.

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Published

2020-10-27

How to Cite

Ilesanmi, O. S., Olabumuyi, O. O., & Afolabi, A. A. (2020). Mobilizing medical students for improved COVID-19 response in Nigeria: a stop gap in human resources for health. Global Biosecurity, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.31646/gbio.89

Issue

Vol. 2 (2020)

Section

Rapid Reports and Perspectives From the Field

License

Copyright (c) 2020 The Author(s)

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Received 2020-10-07
Accepted 2020-10-17
Published 2020-10-27