Celebrating the success of RedR UK's COVID-19 training courses in the MENA Region

Between June and November last year, RedR UK delivered 11 free COVID-19 training courses for humanitarian workers in the MENA region, equipping them with the knowledge and skills needed to respond to the pandemic in their respective communities.

Over the course of six months, we trained 2,344 humanitarian aid workers from over 90 countries around the world. Overall, participants rated the courses with a score of 95%. The courses we provided were conducted in both English and Arabic and covered the following topics:

1. Culture, Context and Hygiene Promotion for COVID-19
2. Managing Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic
3. Managing COVID-19 Myths and Rumours
4. Gender and Inclusion in Response to COVID-19
5. Mental Health in the Workplace During COVID-19
6. Remote Management (Advanced)
7. Online Training Skills (Advanced)
8. Training Essentials
9. Risk Communication and Community Engagement During COVID-19
10. Risk Communication and Community Engagement During COVID-19 (Advanced)
11. Gender-Based Violence and COVID-19

"I took the courses: Gender and Inclusion in the COVID-19 response, (advanced) Remote Management, and Training Essentials in Arabic. All three courses provided me with the vital knowledge needed to make relevant adjustments in our procedures, ensuring that our response could be more appropriate during COVID-19. 

I now have the necessary skills to know how to deliver the correct knowledge to staff, manage staff on the ground in Syria and provide clearer and more concise explanations about training essentials all whilst being remote from the country we are responding in.

A big thank you to RedR UK for providing these training courses to me for free. Without them I would feel less confident in my responsibilities in these uncertain times.”

“I completed 6 out of the 10 RedR UK COVID-19 training courses - including: Culture, context, and hygiene promotion, Gender and inclusion and, Advanced RCCE. 

The MENA region's COVID-19 courses came at the ideal time in my work as I was able to take some of the practical project implementation during COVID-19 that was taught and apply it to implementing emergency response projects in the Philippines. 

The training on 'Risk Communication and Community Engagement' (RCCE) was particularly helpful as humanitarian organisations and government departments in the Philippines were asking for training in this area in order to carry out needs assessments and disaster responses during Covid-19. The RCCE courses provided the foundational knowledge I needed to be able to write and develop sessions on this subject.”

Thank you to the RedR UK staff, associate trainers and volunteers who have gone above and beyond working on our COVID-19 response, and who sometimes worked until the late hours of the night to cater for those in different time zones. To the humanitarian sector as a whole for continuing to support RedR UK and using us as a resource during this difficult time, thank you. 

Without your support, hard work and dedication, our continued efforts to build capacities within the sector wouldn't have been possible.