NCDC takes measure to reduce healthcare associated infections

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says it would integrate the Participatory Approach to Learning in Systems (PALS) approach into the national Infection Prevention Control (IPC) programme to reduce healthcare-associated infections during patient care.

Director General of the NCDC, Dr Ifedayo Adetifa who made this known during a Conference in Abuja themed “PALS: Catalyzing the Power of People for Sustainable IPC Improvement in Health Facilities”, said the NCDC in collaboration with Robert Koch Institute of Germany in 2017 began the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) programme to train health workers in the country.

According to Dr Adetifa, the IPC pilot phase was implemented in hospitals in Lagos, which gave birth to the Participatory Approach to Learning in Systems (PALS) in 2019 to meet the mandate of the IPC.

‘’As part of the collaboration to ensure sustainability, a new cohort has begun to receive training as Multiplicators. As the name suggests, this category of trained PALS experts will function as reservoirs to expand and multiply PALS in healthcare facilities across the country.’ he said.

Research Associate and NiCaDe-IPC project co-lead from the Center of International Health Protection at the Robert Koch Institute, Germany, Dr Flora Haderer said the conference availed health professionals the opportunity to share their experiences in implementing the IPC measures.

‘’In the past years, we have conducted PALS training with 20 trainers, medical directors and chief medical directors of 23 health facilities, and 92 change agents”.

Dr Tochi Okwor, the National IPC Team Lead, explained that healthcare-associated infections were a global issue affecting seven out of every 100 patients hospitalised.

‘’Globally, out of 100 patients hospitalised, seven will be infected with an avoidable Healthcare Associated Infection, with this risk doubling and being up to 20 times higher in low- and middle-income countries such as Nigeria. Also, the more ill and fragile patients get, the higher becomes the risk of these HAIs and their potentially deadly consequences. Furthermore, deaths are increased two to threefold when these infections are resistant to antimicrobials,’’ she empasised.

SOURCE: FRCN