Jhpiego Convenes Senior Clinicians in West Africa to Strengthen Infection Prevention and Control Measures against Ebola

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Nov 07, 2014, 12:55 ET

BALTIMORE, Md., Nov. 7, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- To prevent the spread of Ebola Virus Disease in West Africa, Jhpiego, an international health non-profit and Johns Hopkins University affiliate, is bringing health officials and clinicians from the region to Ghana for specialized training in infection prevention to prepare for future health emergencies.

Jhpiego technical experts will hold two workshops (November 10–21) for Ministry of Health (MOH) officials, physicians, nurses, other clinicians and expert trainers to share the latest in infection prevention and control (IPC) interventions through the new training package, "Prevention and Control of Ebola Virus Disease in Health Care Facilities with Limited Resources." The package was developed by Jhpiego and the Department of Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Control at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Workshop participants will be equipped to train additional frontline health workers and supervisors on best practices to protect themselves and their patients should an outbreak occur in their respective countries.

"Our goal is to assist the governments of West Africa in establishing a level of workplace preparedness and health care provider confidence for any infectious disease emergency, and to provide specific guidelines for the current outbreak," said Leslie Mancuso, Jhpiego's President and CEO. "Gains made in reducing maternal and newborn deaths are eroding because many health facilities have shut down services for pregnant women and newborns. We want to strengthen IPC and workplace standards so maternal health services can be restored safely."

Jhpiego has been working closely with MOHs in Liberia, Guinea and Nigeria to strengthen IPC measures, build health worker capacity to carry out these guidelines, and ensure a high level of workplace and health care provider safety. The trainings will build on Jhpiego's work in the Ebola-impacted countries to ensure that neighboring countries are prepared for a similar crisis.

Over 40 participants from Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côted'Ivoire, Togo, Guinea, Ghana and Nigeria were invited to Accra for training sessions, designed for French- and English-speaking countries. Jhpiego clinicians Drs. Chandrakant Ruparelia and Willibrord Shasha, with Melanie Curless, a nurse and infection prevention epidemiologist from Johns Hopkins Hospital, will provide technical updates on Ebola and reinforce IPC practices. The next phase of training will develop workshop participants as trainers for other health facility staff.