By Bill W. Cooper
15 nurses from six One-stop centers are benefitting from a two-day capacity building training on Stress Trauma Approach (STA) clinical management for health workers in Monrovia.
This initiative is funded by the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany- BMZ while the beneficiaries are from centers in Montserrado and Margibi Counties.
As part of efforts to strengthen response at the institutional level, medica Liberia in collaboration with the County Health Team (CHT) is conducting the training aimed at giving participants some basic knowledge on clinical management of Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV), preventing survivors from re-traumatization and the impact of those incidences on women.
The training also seeks to build participants’ capacity on how to treat survivors using the Stress Trauma Approach (STA) and properly manage survivors, as well as reduce the incidence rate of SGBV.
Speaking at the two-day interactive training which kick-off yesterday, May 18 and is expected to climax today at the Christ Reconciliation Ministry in ELWA, Medica Liberia Reproductive Health Counsellor, Wayejain L.K. Gibson, explained that the training was intended to help educate various nurses on how to deal with rape survivors.
According to her, their mission upon the completion of the training is to also see to it that survivors get treated and handled appropriately by nurses and not in inappropriate way that will somehow affect the survivors’ recovery.
She added “You know most of the survivors are normally traumatized after being assaulted by their male counterpart because it goes directly to the mind, so as health workers, you have to be very patience and more moderate in dealing with survivors.”
Madam Gibson further expressed her optimism that upon the completion of the training, she hopes that the nurses with be more equipped in handling Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV) survivors, thereby disclosing plans of a consistent engagements with them.
Medica Liberia is a non governmental German based organization which aims to promote and protect women and girls against SGBV and other violence meted against women and girls across the country.