WHO calls for better infection control practices

…low-income countries facing risks

One of the latest surveys by the World Health Organisation (WHO) has recognised the urgent need to reduce inequalities in the availability of good hand hygiene and other infection prevention and control measures between high-income and lower-income countries.
In a statement, the global agency informed that a new online monitoring portal would help countries identify and address gaps. It noted that infection control is a serious issue presently, when the world is battling a new coronavirus.
“This is a serious challenge at any time, but COVID-19 has dramatically demonstrated just how important good hand hygiene practices are in reducing the risk of transmission when used as part of a comprehensive package of preventative measures,” the WHO has said.
Good hand hygiene is also vital in preventing any infection acquired in health care, the spread of antimicrobial resistance, and in other emerging health threats. Infections acquired during health care delivery are a major global health problem, but patients in low- and middle-income countries are twice as likely to experience this as patients in high-income countries, measuring 15 per cent and seven per cent of patients respectively.
The study added, “The risk in intensive care unit (ICU), especially among newborns, is between two and 20 times higher. One reason for this is that, in some low-income countries, only one in 10 health workers practices proper hand hygiene while caring for patients at high risk of health care-associated infections in ICU – often because they simply do not have the facilities to do so.”
The survey found a key challenge in the lack of financial resources and crumbling infrastructure. The 2020 WHO Global progress report on WASH in health care facilities: Fundamentals first report reveals that, globally, one in four health care facilities does not have basic water services, and one in three lacks hand hygiene supplies at the point of care.
The survey, conducted on 88 countries, found that the level of progress of hand hygiene and infection prevention and control programmes, especially regarding actual implementation, was significantly lower in low than in middle- and high-income countries.
“In 2018, only 45 per cent of low-income countries had a functional national IPC programme, compared to 53-71 per cent of middle and high-income countries; and dedicated budget to support it was available in only five per cent of low-income countries, as opposed to 18 and 50 per cent of middle and high-income countries.”
While national guidelines on Infection Prevention and Control practices existed in 50 per cent of low-income countries and 69-77 per cent of middle and high-income countries, only 20 per cent and 29-57 per cent had implementation plans and strategies in low, and middle and high-income countries respectively. Overall, only 22 per cent of all countries monitored implementation roll-out and impact.
“Few countries have the capacity to monitor IPC effectively. WHO’s first ever IPC monitoring portal is a protected online platform for countries to collect data in a standardised and user-friendly manner, and download their situation analysis following data entry along with advice on areas and approaches for improvement…Healthcare acquired infections affect millions of patients and health workers worldwide every year.”