By Efe Onodjae

The Federal Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), inaugurated a national infection prevention and control (IPC) technical working group on Monday to enhance healthcare safety across the country.

The inauguration was also supported by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Mohammed Pate, announced the initiative during a ceremony on Monday in Abuja.

Members of the committee were drawn from various agencies of the ministry, such as the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN), and NCDC, as well as international organizations such as AFENET, among others.

At the inaugural meeting, U.S. CDC Division of Global Health Protection Program Director, Dr. Farah Husain, highlighted the importance of having strong IPC programs at all levels of healthcare, not only to reduce infections in patients but also as 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 (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, the U.S. CDC helped develop an IPC curriculum and national guidelines for the Nigerian 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, which aims to provide data for decision-making and measures of progress as Nigeria works to eliminate morbidity and mortality related to healthcare-associated infections.”