Luanda – The national director of Public Health, Helga Freitas, reported on Monday that the Ministry of Health has resumed the National Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Program, to improve the country's epidemiological status.
Helga Freitas made the announcement at the opening of the Workshop on Elaboration of the National Strategic Plan for the IPC Program, aimed at specialists in the areas of infection biology and microbiology.
"The prevention and infection control are important instruments to prevent the transmission of diseases in health care environments and in communities, which is why the ministry created a multisectoral team to take care of all this", she said.
She went on to highlighted that MINSA has used interaction strategies, at all levels, with other sectors, particularly Agriculture and Forestry, Energy and Water and the Environment, including patients.
In her intervention, Helga Freitas said that, according to the WHO (World Health Organization), healthcare-associated infections constitute a silent epidemic, and the impact of these infections and microbacterial resistance on people's lives is incalculable.
"The implementation of the IPC guidelines is essential in all healthcare units for the well-being and safety of patients, staff, visitors and everyone who comes within the scope of patient care activities", she argued.
She highlighted that, the WHO warns countries about simple prevention measures that can prevent 70% of infections, with care through a set of effective infection control interventions.
"Despite the emergencies and re-emergences of the problem, African countries have a long way to go to reach international standards in terms of IPC, including microbial resistance", she explained.
She also added that, for this reason, Angola prepared this IPC program for the period from 2025 to 2029, and will also invest in the regulation and inspection of inputs, counting on the active participation of all surrounding sectors.
Regarding the meeting that began on Monday, Nov. 25, the director made it known that it essentially aims to bring together all health subsectors to draw up a Strategic and Operational Plan for the best prevention of infections throughout Angola.
Lasting five days, the Workshop on Elaborating the National Strategic Plan for the Infection Prevention and Control Program, is debating topics such as "Health Care Free from Preventable Infections", "Strategic Planning" and "Operational Plan".
Until Friday, the speakers will also work on identifying gaps in the sector, mobilizing resources and presenting and analyzing the situation of health units in Luanda, in particular.
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