Monitor and Prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections

Together with our partners, IICB has:

• Developed the Africa IPC Legal Framework, which will help Member States implement and strengthen IPC programs at the national and district level.
• Developed Best Practices for Environmental Cleaning in Healthcare Facilities in Resource-Limited Settings and an accompanying implementation toolkit to help healthcare facilities translate the best practices into practical, achievable actions.
• Developed national IPC guidelines and action plans in 8 countries: Nigeria, Liberia, Iraq, Ethiopia, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, and Uganda.
• Supported WHO Health Emergencies on the development of a framework and toolkit on IPC preparedness, readiness, and response.
• Collaborated with WHO on COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 IPC guidelines across different healthcare settings, including primary care.

For access to guidance and best practices that IICB has created together with our partners, please visit the IICB Resource Library.

Together with our partners, IICB has:

• Initiated and established the East Africa IPC Network including 20 hospitals in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. The network has provided participants with more than 50 weekly case-based learning sessions, 5 webinars, and a moderated Telegram chat group with more than 100 members.
• Created a 6-month IPC diploma course and associated community of practice in Nigeria to train and mentor IPC specialists and to build a network of over 40 hospitals implementing IPC programs.
• Developed and launched an IPC Certificate Training Course in Sierra Leone to strengthen their capacity to prevent HAIs and respond to outbreaks.
• Provided IPC and antimicrobial resistance leadership at the Vietnam Ministry of Health and training and mentorship to over 50 IPC team members at six IPC model hospitals in Vietnam.

To access trainings that IICB has created in collaboration with partners, please visit the IICB Resource Library.

Together with our partners, IICB has:

• Evaluated bloodstream infections (BSIs) in 4,073 newborns in India. More than 200 BSIs were detected leading to the implementation of prevention measures and initiation of a study to investigate causes of BSIs in newborns.
• Evaluated a new surveillance measure for hospital-onset BSIs in two hospitals in India and assessed if these infections are preventable with IPC activities.
• Studied risk factors of hepatitis C infections in Mongolia, where between 11-16% of the adult population has been infected, revealing a need for improved IPC practices in settings providing outpatient endoscopy procedures.

For further details and to access studies that IICB has supported, please visit the IICB Resource Library.

Together with our partners, IICB has:

• Established the Global Action in Healthcare Network consisting of more than 27 facilities across 13 countries working together to address emerging threats in healthcare settings such as HAIs, AR, and COVID-19.
• Developed and piloted a tool in Brazil, Colombia, and Paraguay that uses data to address gaps in IPC, helping prevent BSIs in newborn intensive care unit (NICU) patients.
• Implemented a BSI prevention network in 4 NICUs in Brazil that helps identify gaps in IPC and has trained almost 200 healthcare workers to address those gaps.
• Supported the development of modified definitions of HAIs that are meaningful and feasible in resource limited settings where HAI surveillance capacity may vary.
• Supported implementation of surgical site infection surveillance in India, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and Kenya.
• Supported implementation of the first nationally representative HAI surveillance networks to monitor trends in healthcare-associated bloodstream and urinary tract infections in India and Vietnam.