U.S. and Zimbabwe Partner to Improve Infection Control Practices in Health Care Facilities

ZimPAS

The handover will include: personal protective equipment (PPE) including 5,000 masks with visors, 2,030 N-95 respirators, 2000 heavy duty aprons, and 30,000 light duty aprons.

10 hospitals in Harare and Mashonaland are the first recipients of the donated equipment

Harare, November 1, 2012 – The Zimbabwe Infection Prevention and Control Project (ZIPCOP) will officially handover equipment to the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare (MOHCW) today to support the MOHCW in improving infection prevention and control (IPC) in health care facilities nationwide, and to prevent the transmission of infectious diseases - including TB - among patients and staff.  The handover will include: personal protective equipment (PPE) including 5,000 masks with visors, 2,030 N-95 respirators, 2000 heavy duty aprons, and 30,000 light duty aprons. The activity is supported by the United States Government, through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“These masks, aprons, and other materials will protect health care workers and patients in Zimbabwe from transmission of dangerous air- and blood- borne infections. With this personal protective equipment and other support for infection prevention and control, CDC is pleased to be playing a role in protecting health in health care settings nationwide.” said Dr. Peter Kilmarx, CDC/Zimbabwe Country Director. 

Expected outcomes include equipping health workers with the necessary knowledge and skills to prevent and control infections at all levels of the health delivery system, and procuring and distributing PPE to 100 targeted facilities.  The activity includes training in appropriate use and management of appropriate quality PPE, in-line with internationally approved standards.

“Health facility acquired infections are a major concern for health personnel and patients. The MOHCW therefore seeks in every way possible to improve IPC practice to reduce the risk of health workers and patients from acquiring infections during health care delivery,” said Professor Exnevia Gomo, ZIPCOP Principal Investigator at the Biomedical Research and Training Institute (BRTI).  “The ZIPCOP project aims to strengthen IPC practice in health facilities country wide through a number of strategies. Provision of PPE is one of the strategies aimed at personal protection. The provision will be buttressed by training and IEC on the importance and use of PPE for self-protection as well as protecting others.”

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) standard precautions in health care should include development of policies which facilitate the implementation of infection control measures. These standard precautions are meant to reduce the risk of transmission of blood-borne and other pathogens from both recognized and unrecognized sources. They are the basic level of infection control precautions which are to be used, as a minimum, in the care of all patients. In addition to hand hygiene, the use of personal protective equipment should be guided by risk assessment.  Worldwide escalation of the use of standard precautions would reduce unnecessary risks associated with health care. 

ZIPCOP is a major health initiative that was launched in January 2012, funded by PEPFAR, and is implemented by a consortium which comprises the Biomedical Research and Training Institute (BRTI), Infection Control Association of Zimbabwe (ICAZ) and Management Sciences for Health (MSH).  The United States Government, through PEPFAR and CDC, supports ZIPCOP through a cooperative agreement worth $4 million in funding.  Currently, the programme is in the first year of a five-year cooperative agreement with CDC. Through ZIPCOP and other major partnerships with the government and health community in Zimbabwe, the United States continues to work with Zimbabwe in the fight against HIV/AIDS. 

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Comments and queries should be addressed to Sharon Hudson-Dean, Public Affairs Officer. E-mail: hararepas@state.gov  Tel. +263 4 758800-1, Fax: 758802.