Nearly five years since COVID-19 was first reported, a new global report on infection prevention and control (IPC) by the World Health Organization (WHO) shows there has been slow progress in addressing critical gaps to prevent health care-associated infections (HAIs).
According to WHO, this report, launched at a G7 side-event hosted by Italy, provides a baseline assessment for policymakers, IPC professionals, health care workers and stakeholders to guide action.
A large proportion of HAIs can be prevented with improved IPC practices and basic water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services, which are also a highly cost-effective “best buy” to reduce antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in health care settings.
The report finds that though 71% of countries now have an active IPC programme, just 6% met all of the WHO IPC minimum requirements in 2023-2024.
This is well behind the target of more than 90% by 2030 set in the WHO Global action plan and monitoring framework on IPC.
The report also highlights that patients in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) have up to 20 times higher risk of acquiring infections during health care delivery than in high-income countries (HICs).
HAIs prolong hospital stays and result in complications such as sepsis and in some cases disability or death.
The report found that health care facilities face significant financial and resource challenges, including a lack of IPC professionals and budgets, especially in LMICs. Nearly a quarter of countries reported shortages in their supply of personal protective equipment in 2023, WHO press note said.
New data from WHO and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) estimates that up to 3.5 million patients could die each year from HAIs without urgent action. Such an intervention would also yield annual savings in health care expenditure as high as US$ 112 billion and generate economic gains of up to US$ 124 billion.
“WHO is committed to supporting countries to ensure that by 2030, everyone accessing and providing health care is safe from HAIs,” said Dr Bruce Aylward, WHO Assistant Director-General, Universal Health Coverage, Life Course.
