94 health workers from across Africa have received training and mentorship as part of a new ISH initiative aimed at improving hypertension care across the continent.

The African School of Hypertension for Non-Physician Health Workers was set up by the ISH Africa Regional Advisory Group (RAG) and was first delivered between August and December 2022. It offers training on diagnosing and managing hypertension, and on referring patients to specialist physicians when needed.

The aim of the course was to enable non-physician workers including nurses, pharmacists and community health workers to carry out some of the roles that traditionally only physicians have done. To be eligible for the course, students had to be working in a non-physician healthcare role and be employed in a registered health facility. The first students, coming from Nigeria, Kenya, Gambia, Cameron, Malawi, Sudan, Tanzania and Ghana, have just received course completion certificates from the ISH.

The course is divided into two phases: two months of online lectures taking place every Saturday, followed by a two-month period of mentorship with experienced physicians. Lectures are pre-recorded and uploaded onto the OMRON Academy (an e-learning program for healthcare professionals developed by OMRON in collaboration with leading medical societies, including the ISH), with course faculty members available during lectures to answer questions live. Faculty members were drawn from the RAG membership and other ISH members in Africa.