IYCF counseling: A Training Course - The 3-IN-1 COURSE: Jaipur, Rajasthan. In Rajasthan, from 9-14 October 2004, BPNI, UNICEF and Government of Rajasthan organised an integrated course on breastfeeding, complementary feeding and HIV & Infant feeding counseling. It led to development 15 State trainers from Bihar and Rajasthan. Dr. K.P. Kushwaha, Dr. Raj Bhandari and Dr. Parbati Sengupta supervised the training. Training of Trainers for frontline workers on breastfeeding and complementary feeding counselling. As a follow up of the Rajasthan TOT, a training course was conducted in Gaya, Bihar from 10-16 December 2004. 24 trainers of frontline workers of RCH-ICDS who are existing instructors and trainers of ANMs/AWW centers were trained.
3 in 1 Training of Trainers in M.P. Takes Off! in partnership with Government of India and UNICEF From 23-29 August 2004 State Level Trainers Development Course on Infant and Young Child Feeding was conducted in Bhopal with the objective to initiate the process of establishment of core trainers in the state. A follow up training was planned and was conducted in Gwalior. 21 participants were trained from Bhopal on IYCF counselling and HIV by national trainers of BPNI Dr. M.M.A. Faridi, Dr. Ramneek Sharma and Dr. Anita Gupta. A new method of increasing trainer’s resources was tried.
Continued development of 3-in-1 course: BPNI/IBFAN Asia Pacific organised several courses on the subject and in 2004 took lead in combining 2 courses ‘Breastfeeding’ and ‘HIV and Infant Feeding’. Further in 2004 and 2005 BPNI / IBFAN Asia Pacific in collaboration with UNICEF-India and World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) put all the three courses into one leading to development of ‘3-in-1’ training course Infant and Young Child Feeding Counselling: A Training Course. The course is unique and is first effort of its kind in the region and has been successfully tested in two states of India. The course enables health workers to develop clinical and interpersonal skills needed to support breastfeeding mothers.
Developing National Trainers: We need several core national level trainers to conduct national level training. It requires 6 days of training for initial preparation of trainers, and a course director guides it. These trainers then conduct 7- day training course having 43 sessions for 24 participants, thus completing full course for being trainers, lasting for 13 days. During the first six 6 days trainers become familiar with the course materials, and learn how to conduct different kinds of sessions and during next 7 days they actually impart training to health workers. The course is conducted in highly participatory manner conducive to adult learning. It has classroom sessions, lectures, discussions, demonstrations, exercises, role plays, group work and hospital practices etc.
The core trainer requires another 2 additional days after finishing the course to learn how to organise these courses back home.
BPNI has over the years have created a pool of National Trainers who are imparting training to workers all over India.
Experts meet on updating of the training material on IYCF: A five-day meeting of the experts, Dr. K.P. Kushwaha, Prof. Faridi, Dr. J.P. Dadhich and assisted by Dr. Jagdish C. Sobti, BPNI Education Coordinator, was held in New Delhi at BPNI headquarters in June 2004. It was continued for 2 days in Gorakhpur under the guidance of Dr. Kushwaha in July 2004. All the three courses, breastfeeding, complementary feeding and infant feeding and HIV of BPNI and WHO/UNICEF have been reviewed by the experts and with inputs from earlier experience of TOT within BPNI have led to an updated and revised version of 3-in-1 training course, Infant and Young Child Feeding Counselling: A Training Course (an integrated course on Breastfeeding, Complementary Feeding and HIV & Infant Feeding Counselling).
Orientation of government counsellors: BPNI trainer Dr. Mallikarjuna H.B. held an integrated orientation workshop in counselling for breastfeeding, complementary feeding and feeding in HIV in Bangalore in March 2004. 47 government counsellors appointed to local hospitals participated in the orientation.
34 nurses trained in Simla: State level training programme was organised from 4-12 March 2004. The Himachal Pradesh State Branch of TNAI, a partner organisation of BPNI, organised the programme. On 11th and 12th March, Prof. M.M.A. Faridi coordinated the session on breastfeeding and complementary feeding.