INFECTION PREVENTION, CONTROL TECHNICAL WORKING GROUP INAUGURATED WITH SUPPORT FROM U.S. CDC
By Edoamaowo Udeme
Nigeria’s Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Technical Working Group was yesterday inaugurated by Dr. Jide Idris, the Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention who represented the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, with support from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. CDC).
According to a press statement from the US Embassy Nigeria, The working group, comprised of representatives from the Government of Nigeria, disease programs, partner organizations, and academia, provides a platform to improve IPC coordination among stakeholders.
“It aims to prevent the spread of communicable diseases, improve patient safety and quality of care, reduce the burden healthcare-associated infections including those that are multidrug-resistant, and standardize procedures for the prevention of infectious diseases across the country”.
At the inaugural meeting, U.S. CDC Division of Global Heath Protection Program Director Dr. Farah Husain highlighted the importance of having strong IPC programs at all levels of healthcare as not only a way to reduce infections in patients, but a core component of protecting healthcare workers.
Strong IPC programs also help establish sustainable healthcare systems that can reduce antimicrobial resistance and prevent and respond to outbreaks.
“The technical working group will support the coordination and planning of Nigeria’s IPC program including biosecurity and water, sanitation and hygiene or WASH programs, develop comprehensive and evidence-based IPC plans that are aligned with national and international standards, and strengthen IPC governance at all levels”.
IPC has been a continuously growing area of U.S. government support in Nigeria since the Ebola outbreak in 2014. Initially, U.S. CDC helped develop an IPC curriculum and national guidelines for the Nigeria healthcare system. In 2018, in collaboration with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, they helped launch the national IPC program that led to the establishment of the Orange Network, a group of 41 tertiary health facilities that serve as models for IPC programs.
The IPC program is currently supporting a scale up of its national healthcare associated infection prevention surveillance program that aims to provide data for decision making and measures of progress as Nigeria works to eliminate morbidity and mortality related to healthcare associated infections.
