PASQUALE project continues sustainable infection prevention and control in Guinea

PASQUALE (Partnership to Improve Patient Safety and Quality of Care) held the country’s first national stakeholder meeting about Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) on 17-18 July 2023 in Conakry, Guinea. The workshop convened an on-site symposium focusing on IPC guidelines involving research organisations, national and regional public health agencies, institutes, as well as national and international non-governmental organisations.

PASQUALE team and participants at the symposium venue in Conakry, Guinea. Source: PASQUALE

PASQUALE is funded by the Global Health Protection Programme (GHPP), an initiative from the German Federal Ministry of Health which promotes and strengthens collaborations between German public health institutions and partners worldwide. PASQUALE which began in 2018, has expanded project activities to all of Faranah in its third phase, one of 8 geographical regions of Guinea. PASQUALE now works towards strengthening of IPC in the regional hospital, the three prefectural hospitals and 21 adjacent health centres chosen by the regional actors. The project partners aim to expand the local production and distribution of alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR), and they will primarily focus on the development of a training of trainers adapted to the local context and health system. As one of the project’s first milestones, the workshop in Conakry, which was held under patronage of the ZIG Office and the Guinean Ministry of Public Health and Hygiene, was planned with the intention to harmonise an IPC action plan and roadmap for PASQUALE III in order to optimise sustainable implementation and partnership with all stakeholders. Other specific objectives included the presentation of PASQUALE III to Guinean IPC experts and the sharing of knowledge of the achievements, prospects and challenges in terms of IPC in Guinean health facilities.

The workshop consisted of one day of presentations, virtual and in-person, and a second day of group work, all accompanied with vivid discussions and exchanges. Participants were divided in accordance to their professional backgrounds into three themes: (1) IPC research, (2) IPC training, (3) clinical and community IPC. Each group produced a recommendation report which will be utilised to implement PASQUALE activities and its work packages. These work packages also include an anthropological study in collaboration with CERFIG (Centre de Recherche et Formation en Infectiologie de Guinée) which focuses on social and cultural aspects related to IPC in health facilities, as well as a pilot study on post-caesarean infection.

Finally, this workshop, with its recommendations, was a major step forward in participatory approaches to IPC capacity building in Guinea, and set the stage for many future exchanges. A short documentation in the local television news described the workshop as a real success and a springboard for the success of infection prevention and control activities in the Faranah administrative region.

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